Hunter x Heroes
by Meiiii
Summary: Midoriya and Bakugo had waited 13 years for this moment, both training hard for the hunter exam, although a childhood incident had left one of them unable to use a crucial point of nen. (I'm not very good at summaries sorry, rated T for Bakugo's mouth and typical shounen violence) Contains OCs, but none central to the plot.
1. The beginning x of a x new adventure

**This is my first fanfic of hunter x hunter and my hero academia! I'm kinda scared because I want to do justice to the absolute masterpieces of hunter x hunter and my hero academia, but well... I hope you like the story!**

 ** _Disclaimer_ : I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Edited 29/9/19**

* * *

Izuku's POV

The hunter exam is renowned for its low success rate, and high death rate. For such stats one should wonder why it is so popular. Here I find myself, standing in a room underground, for gathering applicants of this very exam.

"Yo! I haven't seen you before. You must be new! I'm Tonpa. I can tell as this is my 35th attempt. I guess you could say I'm an exam veteran."  
"Some exam veteran you are, failing an exam 34 times, belly-nose," scoffed Kacchan.  
"Ah! S-sorry about him. He can come off quite aggressive..." I attempted to cover for him, as how our usual social interactions would go.  
"Ah... well, uh... Would you like a drink?" Tonpa asked uncomfortably.  
Kacchan glared at him. "Fuck off."  
"I-it's okay, thanks though Tonpa-san, sorry about him..."

 _"This is suspicious, why would someone offer a refreshment to a stranger they have never met before, especially one who calls them shit-face after a somewhat nice, although perhaps fake, introduction, in an exam where the less prepared the other applicants are, the higher chance of success? There must be a reason that he's failed 34 times already... Either way, even if I wanted a drink, Kacchan completely shut down that option."_

"Oi Deku! Shut up."

Tonpa, number 16, walked off, looking quite pissed off. Hopefully he wont bother us again anytime soon.

After 30 minutes or so of waiting, a loud bell rung, breaking the silence and adding to the already tense atmosphere. The first phase of the exam, was beginning. Hopefully.

A wall began to rise, drawing everyone's attention, and revealing what I presumed to be the first examiner.

"Sorry for the wait. The entry period for hunter applicants has ended. The hunter exam will now begin!" said the pink haired man. He had a long curly moustache, wore a suit and... didn't have a mouth?  
"Jeez finally... How long did it even take..." Kacchan retorted quietly.  
"Kacchan, that was only 30 minutes, we arrived 391st and 392nd, and the last person I saw enter was 405. Really the amount of time we waited was a drop in the bucket."  
"Shut your mouth damn nerd. We should've arrived later."  
The examiner continued, "A final caution. If you are short on luck or ability, you could very well end up seriously injured or even dead. Those who accept the risks please follow me. Otherwise, exit via the elevator behind you."

An asinine statement. Of course no one would leave, after coming this far. The examiner began to walk away from the crowd, swinging his legs rather dramatically for a normal walking pace.

Eventually though, he picked up the pace, and forced us all to run, although he was still merely walking.

"I forgot to introduce myself. I am Satotz, first phase examiner. I shall lead you to the exams second phase."  
"Second? what about the first?" The voice of another applicant sounded out.  
"It has already commenced."

An outbreak of disbelieving murmurs followed, however Kacchan made his voice loud and clear when exclaiming over confidently, breaking the commotion.

"What? Is that all there is to it? What a stupid exam! Everyone can pass if all the phases are like this!" Kacchan announced his arrogance to everyone in the room, drawing their gaze towards him. They had all likely noted his presence.

"Yes, you simply need to follow me" Satotz replied, unfazed by Kacchan's outburst. "I cannot tell you where or when we'll arrive at the end, you must simply follow me."  
"K-kacchan please... Let's not underestimate the exam ok?"

' _Is this then a test of stamina? Perhaps both physical and mental, as you don't know when you will reach the end?'_

"Pathetic! How can such an easy test have such a low success rate? Are all these extras that fucking weak?" Kacchan had brought his voice lower, only talking to me, now.  
"D-don't call other people extras! It's testing our mental fortitude and endurance, besides this is only the first phase."  
"This exam is lame," he grinned, brimful of confidence.

/

The group was getting smaller, unconscious applicants scattered all over the floor behind them. I could feel sweat rolling down my skin, panting heavily. glancing over to Kacchan, he seemed ok. I could see the difference in stamina between us.

A kid with silver hair skated past us on a skateboard.

 _'Ah... that was smart. The examiner never said we had to run, we only have to follow him.'_

Kacchan suddenly picked up his pace, with an enraged expression. I sighed.

My guess that he was challenging the skateboarder.

"What do you-" The silver haired kid shot him an annoyed look, but was interrupted by a tall man with glasses.  
"Hey wait up kid! You should show the hunter exam some respect! Using a skateboard is cheating!"  
"Why?" The kid replied nonchalantly.  
"This is an endurance test!" snapped the tall man.  
"No it's not," said another kid in green.  
"Gon! What are you saying?" The tall man was aghast.  
"The examiner only said to follow him," the other kid said cheerfully.  
"Whose side are you on?"

This group was quite intriguing.

"Hey how old are you?" The skateboarder asked, directing the question at the kid in the green, probably called Gon.  
"I'm 12 years old."

' _He's a year younger than us. And by the looks of it, more skilled than me...'_ I felt my self-esteem dip slightly. Gon didn't look even a sliver tired.

Suddenly the silver haired kid jumped of his skateboard, and kicked it into his arms flawlessly.

"I guess I'll run too."  
"Wow! That was cool! huh?" I suddenly spoke up, amazed by the kids casual trick shot, and spoke at the same time as Gon. I felt blood rush to my face, embarrassed from my sudden addition to the conversation.

"Hi!" Gon, fortunately, spoke up before the situation got more awkward.  
"H-hi!"

' _Oh god now I probably look like a complete dork...'_

"Oi! You know skateboarding wont help you! I'll still be faster than you!"

Once again, Kacchan's impulsive nature threatened the chances of us sharing a good social interaction with others.

"I recognise that voice! You're the guy who yelled about how the exam is stupid!" Gon didn't seem to be annoyed with him at all, in fact he looked more positive than negative at the discovery.

"Yeah so?" Kacchan grunted.  
"Nothing really. Anyway I'm Gon!"  
"I'm Killua."  
"Katsuki Bakugo."  
"I-Izuku Midoriya ."  
"Nice to meet you Killua, Katsuki, Izuku!"

' _I didn't expect him to be so informal. I guess it's ok though.'_

"Yeah, nice to meet you!" I returned brightly.

We had made friends. I thought it was unlikely, but Gon was incredibly friendly. I thought about apologising for Kacchan's attitude, but at the same time Kacchan wouldn't really like that, so I decided to save my breath. After all, we had already ran about 4 hours, I couldn't expend energy on something unnecessary, especially since I thought I looked the worst for wear out of the four of us.

However, compared to me the man from earlier was doing even worse, and halted. Gon heard him drop his suitcase, and stopped as well, me and Killua followed suit, however Kacchan kept running apathetically.

"Hey forget him. Let's get going," said Killua.  
"Yeah, if he can't pass this lame ass phase then he definitely wont be able to become a hunter." Kacchan shouted, ahead of us but only walking instead of running. He did still care.

He was always like that.

"I'm definitely going to become a hunter!" The man suddenly shot forward, speeding past us, and Kacchan. Perhaps Kacchan's words unknowingly motivated him, making him want to prove his worth.  
Gon took out his fishing rod, and fished the suitcase the man had dropped.

"Cool!" Once again, I spoke at the same time as another one out of awe, but this time it wasn't so awkward.  
"Let me try that out later."  
"If you let me use your skateboard."

I didn't have anything though, and I hadn't done anything cool. I was... inferior, so I kept quiet after speaking together with Killua.  
We caught up to the man and Kacchan, reaching some stairs.

The group began to run even faster, even up the stairs. The examiner had likely picked up the pace again.

"Guys, want to see who finishes first?" Killua said.  
"Sure! The loser has to buy dinner." Before I could decline (I wanted to decline, I was sure I would lose) Gon spoke up.  
"Bring it on!" Kacchan affirmed.  
I gulped.  
"Ready... Go!" We all spoke together, and sped off. They were all eager for a competition, but I wasn't just going to accept that I would lose.

We eventually caught up to the man and a blond, I was keeping up with them.

"See you at the goal Kurapika," Gon waved at the blond.  
"Catch you later old man," Killua grinned.  
"I'm not old! I'm a teenager, just like you guys!"

That statement hit like an anvil.

"Really!"  
"No way!"  
"You're lying, four-eyes," Kacchan insulted.  
"I'm not lying! I am a teen! And don't call me that, my name is Leorio! Leorio-san for you!"

Whilst they all slowed down from the shock, I kept quiet and took the opportunity to run ahead of them.

"Oi! Where do you think your going?" Killua shouted and ran even faster, catching up to me.  
"Ehehehe..." I was almost at my limit. Actually, I had already passed my limit, now I was running on mere determination, if that's even possible.  
"I'm surprised that you can keep up with my pace though." Killua stated.  
"Obviously I can cloud-head."  
"Cloud-head? Who are you calling cloud-head? My name is Killua!"  
"S-sorry about Kacchan he can be quite.."  
"Kacchan?"  
"Oh! It's a nickname, We've known each other a long time."  
"I see..." Gon muttered, after hearing an answer to his question.  
"Everyone else is so slow though, this exam'll be a breeze."  
"Exactly. This exam is lame." Kacchan agreed with Killua.

I couldn't see a single bead of sweat on Killua, he was a monster. Kacchan likely wasn't still thinking the exam was as lame as in the beginning, but he didn't want to damage his pride, Killua bested us, yet he didn't even seem to be trying.

"Hey guys, why do you want to be hunters?" said Gon, breaking the verbal silence.  
"Me? I'm not really interested in becoming a hunter, I just heard the exam was difficult so I thought it'd be fun. But it's disappointing," answered Killua  
"What about you Katsuki?"  
"I'm going to become the greatest hunter!"  
"Izuku?"  
"I- I guess I want to help people. What about you Gon?"  
"Well my dad's a hunter, so I want to be hunter like my dad."  
"What kind of hunter is he?" I asked. I wondered if I knew Gon's dad, if he was a hunter.  
"I don't know. I was raised by Aunt Mito-san, so I've only seen my dad in pictures. When he was 12, he took the hunter exam and passed. Then he left the island. I want to find out why he chose to be a hunter over being with me."  
"I-it's the same with me! My dad took it for the first time when he was 13 though, and I was raised by my mother."  
"Oh!"

Right on cue, as we finished our talk, the exit appeared. Without a word to each other, we all began our final sprint.  
I shouldn't have talked much. I was lagging behind all three of them.

"Goal!" The three of them shouted in unison as they crossed the last step simultaneously. I was about a half step behind.

"Yay! I win!" Killua cheered.  
"What are you talking about? I was faster!" countered Gon.  
"Get your facts straight, I was clearly faster!" retorted Kacchan.

I didn't want this to get out of hand so I interrupted their bickering.

"Well I lost! I'm buying dinner so it doesn't matter."

"Deku I don't care! Obviously you would lose! What matters is that I won!"  
"Deku?"  
"It's a nickname..." I dismissed the question quickly.  
"You didn't win though! I was fastest!"  
"No I was!"  
"It was me!"  
"Let's ask Satotz, he'll have an outside opinion." Once again, I interrupted them to bring a solution.  
"Good Idea! Hey Satotz, who was faster?"  
"I believe you three crossed the finish line simultaneously, although #392 was last."  
"Oh..."  
"What are you on about Moustache-for-mouth?! I won!"  
"Oi Katsuki, or should I say spikey hair, why do you never use real names?"  
"Fuck off cloud-head!"  
"U-umm! Satotz-san is this where the second phase takes place?" I couldn't let things get awkward so I quickly changed the subject.  
"No we still have quite a way to go."

' _Are you serious? I feel like I'm about to collapse... This is only the first phase! How are they all still ok! Well At least I know Kacchan's faking it for the sake of his pride, as am I.'_

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you stick with me lol. ^-^ The next chapter shouldn't take too long to be uploaded. It is almost the end of the summer holidays though, so after posting the second chapter, there could be a long wait, and if not, then definitely after the 3rd chapter... ):**


	2. A vast x difference x in power

**Yay your still here! Not much to say.**

 ** _Disclaimer_ : I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Edited 29/9/19**

* * *

Izuku's POV

We sat at the exit, shrouded in fog, waiting for the rest of the examinees to catch up.  
I took out my water bottle from my belt and took a long gulp from it. I had been so focused on finishing the race, I hadn't realised how parched my throat was. I was hoping the last people would take a while to reach us, I really needed to catch my breath.

I didn't have long though, after Leorio and the blonde guy he was with, Gon called him Kurapika, caught up, the fog began to fade, and Satotz explained the second part of the first phase of the exam.

"The Numere wetlands, or Swindlers swamp. We must cross these wetlands to reach the 2nd phase of the hunter exam. This home is place to many cunning, insatiable creatures, who enjoy deceiving humans. Be very careful, if you let them deceive you, you're dead. Stay close to me so you wont be deceived."

"Don't let them fool you!"

Without warning, or perhaps with warning regarding the examiners explanation, someone emerged from behind the exit.

"He's lying to you!" With an intense expression, he pointed at Satotz. "He's an impostor! He isn't an examiner!" I'm the real examiner. Look at this."

The man pulled out an unconscious monkey, with the face of Satotz.

"It's a man-faced ape. They love the taste of human flesh. However their limbs are long and thin, so they disguise themselves as humans. They trick humans in these wetlands, teaming up with other animals to devour them. He intends to trap every single applicant!"

Just like that, the crowd began to favour the one who just emerged.

' _Ridiculous. How can they fall for such a stupid trick after the examiner just explained to us what these animals try to do. If Satotz wasn't truly the real examiner, he wouldn't have began the exam from the starting point. The hunter board decided the beginning of the exam, if Satotz wasn't a real examiner, that means he would've had to trick the entire hunting board.'_

I thought about disproving the real impostor, but before I was able to even think about what to say, three cards shot at the trickster, and Satotz. The former was wounded, and the latter caught them.

"I see, I see. You're the real one."

A strange clown-like contestant shuffled a deck of cards, seeming to be the source of the attack. I felt shivers travel up my spine.

I recognised him.

His name was Hisoka Morow, and the only reason he wasn't already a hunter was because he was disqualified for almost killing an examiner during his first attempt. He had killed 20 examinees.

"Examiners are hunters selected to perform this duty without pay. Any hunter would've been able to block that attack."

Although he looked the very definition of evil psychopath, I had to give him credit for his quick thinking. He dispelled all confusion in an instant.  
But he was dangerous.

"I'll take that as a compliment, however attack me again and I shall disqualify you for attacking an examiner. I believe a number of you were fooled. If you lose sight of me in the wetlands fog, you will never reach the exam's second phase. Please follow me"

Fortunately that conflict had bought some time for me to catch my breath. I stood up, and ran along side Killua, Gon and Kacchan on our way to the next phase of the exam.

/

"Guys. Let's move up." After running through the marshes, Killua spoke up.  
"Yeah we don't want to lose sight of the examiner."  
"We also need to get away from Hisoka." I knew this was Killua's real meaning.  
"Yes. Staying too close to him is dangerous," he confirmed what I thought.  
"Leorio, Kurapika! Killua said we should move up ahead!"  
"If we could've we already would've! Don't worry about us!" The two replied to Gon, how I wanted to reply to Killua, however the tension in the air was suffocating. It was too risky to stay behind.

We all picked up the pace, however I noticed Kacchan constantly glancing back, eyeing Hisoka.

"Kacchan! D-don't tell me you're think about fighting him!"

I had known him for 13 years. He had always wanted a challenge, but he had also always known when something was too far to reach.  
He didn't reply.

.

We heard screaming at short intervals all around us.

"There's something underneath us! Move!" After not having spoken for a while, Kacchan warned us, but too late.

' _Kacchan, how did you...'_

We were swallowed whole by a giant frog, which emerged suddenly from the ground.

Just as abruptly we were spit out.

"I guess he didn't like the taste of us..."  
"It was this." Killua pulled out a drink which we had been offered before the exam had even started  
"That's Tonpa-san's! I guess he saved us," Gon said.

' _How did that result in the frog spitting us out... was the drink spiked?'_

"I'm worried about Leorio and Kurapika..." Gon muttered.  
"Forget them. Let's get going. We can still catch up to the examiner," Killua responded.  
"I'm sure they'll be alright, I mean they did make it this far..." I tried to ease Gon's worries.

Suddenly Gon stopped running, with a concerned facial expression.

"What is it Gon?"  
"Huh? Gon, come on we need to catch up."  
"I've got a bad feeling... You guys go on ahead I'll catch up!"  
"Why? What is it?"

Without replying, Gon ran back where we came from.

"Wait, Gon!" Killua called out to Gon, as I ran after him.

"Let's go, they can catch up." I heard Kacchan speak to Killua behind me, I didn't hear another pair of footsteps, so he must've agreed.

Gon was sprinting. Before his run during the race clearly wasn't his best, I could barely keep up with him.  
I didn't shout to save my breath, concentrating only on keeping him in sight. I had a feeling that somehow, he would be able to find Kacchan and Killua again.

Racing into my view was Hisoka and Leorio.

' _Don't tell me... they're fighting?'_

They were certainly fighting, although it was incredibly one sided. I forgot about my exhaustion, running to wards them before I could think, until a fishing line hit Hisoka on the cheek.

This was the bad feeling he had.

"Not bad little boy. Allow me a closer look."

Hisoka began to walk towards Gon. I was way behind him, hiding (unintentionally but luckily) behind some bushes.

Leorio was enraged at his shift in attention, and ran up behind him, preparing to hit him, but to no avail.  
All it took was one punch.  
One punch to the face, and Leorio was out.

Gon jumped forward swinging with his fishing rod, but somehow Hisoka turned to smoke.  
I didn't even notice him suddenly appear behind Gon.

On one hand, I had to help Gon, yet on the other hand, I would likely be a liability. This proved he was more skilled than me - he hit with perfect accuracy with his fishing rod, yet the gap between his and Hisoka's power was too great.

Gon kept swinging his rod furiously, hoping to land another hit on the magician, yet not a single hit it's mark. He was avoiding them easily.

Gon moved fast. But the clown moved faster. In an instant, his hand was clasped around Gon's neck.  
He was completely at Hisoka's mercy.  
I planned to change that.

I silently crept up behind him and threw a punch into his arm holding Gon.  
He dropped Gon, but... it almost seemed as if he did it on purpose.

"Another one came to save you. You've made many friends," he smirked devilishly.

' _Think! What can I do for us three to escape safely! Leorio is unconscious, one of us will need to carry him. Someone could serve as a decoy? The club Leorio dropped! Maybe-'_

Before I could finish thinking, I hastily jumped to the side narrowly avoiding a card flying straight to my chest. Scrambling up, I jumped to the club lying a few metres away. Expecting another attack, I brought it up to protect myself, however no card came.

"Wonderful. I love those expression on your faces. You have good friends. Don't worry. You all pass."

He was interrupted by a ring.

"Hisoka, you should get back here we are almost at the 2nd exam site," the voice through the phone spoke.  
"You can find your way back yourself, yes?" Hisoka addressed us two, and began to leave himself, picking up Leorio and carried him away after seeing Gon nod in response.

As soon as he faded away into the fog, I ran towards Gon.

"Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Izuku!"  
"A-are you sure? But he looked like he was strangling you!"  
"I'm fine! Let's get back to the others now then."  
"How? I guess if we hurry we can follow him? _Do you think he's going to the beginning of the 2nd phase? By what the person on the phone said, chances are yes. Why did he take Leorio? Is it because 'we all pass?' What does he even mean by that? Who was it on the phone? How will we find-"  
_ "Izuku?"  
"Oh! S-sorry! It's a habit of mine I mumble to myself a lot... Anyway how are we going to get back?"  
"By smell! I can smell Leorio's cologne - it's very unique."  
"Gon! Are you alright?"

Out of the fog came the blonde guy Leorio was running with before - Kurapika.

/

We found a gathering of people, likely from the exam, standing in front of a gate.

 _"Although there is a possibility that this is a trick, Gon seems reliable. If they were to fool his nose they would have to both replicate Leorio's cologne, and hide the original source... Unless if they took Leorio themselves? Hisoka carried him though, so either they beat Hisoka, which is not possible, Hisoka was one of them, which wouldn't make sense as he had the power then and there to kill us, but didn't, or Hisoka left Leorio somewhere random, which is also unlikely as he said he passed... But then again-"_

"Izuku you're doing it again."

I was shocked to my senses after my mumble storm by Gon. We began to search around, scanning the crowd for a sign of him (I also looked for Killua and Kacchan). We found him leaning against a tree

"There you are! I can't believe you made it back!" Giving my answer to the whereabouts of Killua and Kacchan, a certain voice caused us all to turn our head.  
"I tracked Leorio's cologne."  
"Really? You are weird."

"Everyone, nice work. The second phase will take place in the Biska forest park. Best of luck to you all." Bringing all eyes on him, Satotz gave another explanation then made his leave, swinging his lanky legs in his strange stride.

The gate then opened to reveal a huge mansion, with a long pathway leading up to it. I groaned at the thought of more walking, my legs were about to give away, but you couldn't expect less of the hunter exam. The large group trudged to the mansion to meet the next examiners.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Thanks for all the follows, and favourites! If your wondering how Bakugo felt something when the frog swallowed them, it'll be explained in a later chapter ;D**

 **Replies to reviews:**

Jss2141: Thanks for coming back! :D

Guest: Thanks! I was thinking about that too, I'll probably make Katsuki a transmuter, as having the power work is more import than the personality since there can be anomalies. As for Izuku though... :)


	3. Cooking x gone x wrong

**_Disclaimer_** **: I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Edited 29/9/19**

* * *

Izuku's POV

Sitting on a sofa, was a lady with funky green hair. She wore long strange deep purple boots, bows running down the length of the front side, extremely short shorts (they could be mistaken as panties if not for the denim), and a transparent shirt (with a bra underneath of course), defeating the purpose of a shirt in the first place. She was tiny compared to the giant that sat behind her, his arm was probably as big as, if not bigger than the woman.

"Welcome. I'm Menchi, the second phase examiner," said the woman.  
"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner," continued the man

The two had a completely different feel to the emotionless examiner of the first phase. Menchi spoke with a tone of superiority to the examinees, understandable as she already was a hunter, and Buhara, despite his size, sounded cheerful and childish.

"Phase 2 will have..."

Everyone stood still with bated breath. What could 2 examiners with opposite physiques have in store for us?

"Cooking!"

' _That was anticlimactic. At least I'll now have a chance to catch my breath... but then again, the exam has been full of surprises thus far.'_

My thoughts were interrupted to hear 2 enraged voices, one familiar, and one unfamiliar.

"Cooking?" yelled the unfamiliar one.  
"What do you think your playing as Christmas-tree-hair?! This is the hunter exam! Why do we need to cook!" snapped the familiar one.  
"I'm just going to ignore that you little brat! Don't forget I could disqualify you in the blink of an eye! And you need to cook because we are Gourmet hunters!"

Although Menchi had lost her sense of grandiose in response to my explosive friend, she regained it in immediately announcing her status.

' _Gourmet hunter? Although It sounds lame, it must be very cool! If I think about it, actually cooking isn't all done in the kitchen, there is also the process of gathering the ingredients. Many factors can come into play, such as the rarity of the ingredient, or the difficulty to obtain... Hunters can be so diverse!'_

I seemed to be the only one excited from her answer, everyone else only mocked her with laughter.

'Even if they are _gourmet hunters however, it is quite strange that one is... that size, and the other is as thin as stick...'_

"So gourmet hunters? What do we need to cook?" The unfamiliar voice spoke again, with no attempt at hiding the mockery and over confidence.

"The required ingredient is pork."

Although Menchi was clearly ticked, her plus sized partner was unfazed by the jeers.

"You're free to use meat from any species of Biska forest pigs. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork. You will only pass if we both find it tasty."  
"There's more to it than taste, don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. When we've both eaten our fill ,the exam will end."  
"So the 2nd phase, begins!"

A race against each other. That's likely what everyone else thought it was, with only a limited number of people being able to present their meal. Buhara could eat for days so he wouldn't be a problem, however Menchi's petite body would only allow a few meals before she was full. At once everyone rushed to the forest.

"Pah! I thought the first phase was easy, but they're lowering the difficulty? This'll be a breeze," scorned Kacchan.  
"I hope so..." the other blond, Kurapika, replied, concerned.

Fortunately, we found the pigs easily.  
Unfortunately, they were carnivores.

At the sight of more meat to devour, the entire horde of pigs came charging straight for us, bulldozing anything in their path, all we could do was run.

"I-I've read about these pigs! They're called the great stamp! They use their nose to send their enemies flying. They are strong so frontal attacks don't work!"  
"Does attacking from behind work then?"  
"I remember they had a weakness, I just don't remember w-where..."  
"Guess we'll have to find that weakness ourselves then."

 _'Reading everything about hunters, remembering every piece of information about the exam had proved useful, or at least would have if I remembered the important detail! Think think! What did it say! "In order to take down the fearsome great stamp, it is all but too easy, one must..." Dammit I don't remember!'_

I noticed a pig Gon was fighting bump into a tree, and apple fall onto it's head.

"That's it! The forehead! You must hit the forehead!"

A little overexcited at remembering I shouted the information loud and clear.  
A bit too loud and clear.  
Everyone turned their heads towards me, many with a gleeful look in their eyes, but five with an annoyed look.

"Idiot! Did you think shouting it loud enough for the entire world to hear was a good idea? Damn nerd."

I realised my mistake too late.  
Everyone took the pigs out in one hit, hitting them straight in the forehead. A group of smug examinees all raced back to the mansion in order to cook the meal, carrying pigs over their heads.

Almost in sync, every examinee roasted the pig on a flame, turning it so it could cook evenly.

Already, the first examinee had brought their meal to the table, presenting with confidence and certainty.  
Although the pig was burnt.

To my surprise, the larger examiner passed him without a second thought, devouring the giant pig. However, Menchi didn't even touch it and failed him.

"It's overcooked. The toughness of the meat ruins the flavour."

Examinee after examinee, all came up, presenting their pig, getting a pass from Buhara, and a fail from Menchi, without even touching the meat.

" _So that's why one is so large, and the other is so slim. At least the problem of Menchi getting full easily won't matter. One is a glutton, and the other is a foodie. Buhara will eat anything, so long as it's edible (I hope) and Menchi has strict tastes. She said at the beginning to not underestimate the intricacies of cooking. If I were to cook a proper looking meal, I could pass, however I could also inform the rest of the applicants how to pass. Even if the taste was to be bland, if she still ate it, the other examinees would have a better shot at success. The best thing to do would be to wait for all the other examinees to attempt, and ultimately fail, so we can present without worrying about anyone else seeing, however there are two problems. Buhara could get full, after all, over 100 applicants are remaining and he is eating the whole pig every time, and someone else could be thinking the same thing, and we end up waiting for each other to go..."_

"Deku, shut up."  
"That's right! This phase is a cooking test, but they're judging us on originality and powers of observation."  
"Y-yes! That's what I mean," I gratefully said to Kurapika.

Kurapika summed up my thoughts into a few words, I silently thanked him for ignoring my embarrassing habit, and understanding my rambles,

Leorio and Gon then decided to decorate their pigs with some random things... they didn't understand at all.  
As they went up to present I called them out.

"W-wait! That's not what we meant! It needs to actually look like a meal! We don't have to use the whole pig."  
"Yes. We must utilise the ingredients given to us, and compliment the flavour of the pig. In other words, the taste doesn't matter." It seemed Kurapika didn't wholly understand either.  
"N-no I don't think so... The taste does matter, although it first needs to pass the test of observation."  
"Either way, Buhara looks like he's getting full, we need to hurry up!" Killua was right. Buhara's stomach looked completely bloated, his shirt was rolled up, unable to cover the giant stomach of his.

Although I said all that, I couldn't actually cook. I had a better chance simply saying how one would pass the exam, seeing as no one else seemed to understand.

I began to chop up some vegetables, hoping I could somehow make use of them, but I noticed Kacchan go up. Whilst we were talking, he was preparing his meal, ferociously. He had now finished and was going up to present.

"Finally, someone utilised the ingredients! Let's see, then."

For the first time, the picked up her fork and knife, and cut a piece of pork out of the dish, placing it in her mouth.

"Huh. Strange that out of all the people to take this seriously, you would. Didn't you call me Christmas-tree-hair?"

She chewed, not looking delighted, yet also not looking completely disgusted.

"The taste isn't that great. I see what you tried to do with the sauce, but you should use apple sauce instead of gravy, it compliments the flavour much better. Although it isn't that good, compared to the other freaks you're not half bad. You pass."

"Seriously?! You asked us to catch a pig and-" It was that same examinee who had outburst eariler.  
"I asked for you to prepare a meal using pork, and none of you made anything remotely delicious! None of you put in any effort! The best thing was the meal this young man cooked! It is pretty terrible, but compared to you losers, it's godly!"

I had to hurry up. Kacchan came back with a evil smirk on his face, now that Menchi had explained how to pass, chances of anyone else plummeted to less than 0.5%

Nevertheless, I gathered my courage and walked up towards the examiners.

Of course, Buhara passed me without any second thought, however he wasn't the problem.

"You take a page out of his book? Well I'm sorry to say you were too slow, now you really need to impress me."

It was a pass from the observation test, she took a piece out of the meal I prepared and placed it gingerly into her mouth.  
Not even a second passed and she spit it out of her mouth.

"Yuck! Sorry kid, I can tell you tried, but there is such thing as overdoing it you know. You added too many different ingredients, it all clashes in the mouth. I would pass you for effort if you came first, but it's too late. You fail."

Defeated, I walked off.

"Come on! Deku how can you fail such an easy thing as cooking!"  
"I don't know how you passed!" Killua spoke to my defence  
"I don't know how your all so bad at everything!"

After my fail, it was over.

"I'm stuffed!" The cheerful voice of Buhara signalled the end of the test, licking his lips after finishing the meal I had prepared.  
"Yeah I'm stuffed too. Therefore only one person passes. We're done here!"

She couldn't have been full, she only took a single bite out of 2 dishes prepared.

"No! I can't accept that! This is ridiculous!" The same voice from earlier resonated - #255.  
"In the end you still failed. None of you took cooking seriously! Only two people did, one probably because they saw the previous person pass when they tried!"  
"Shut up! I'm not trying to become a chef or a gourmet. I want to become a hunter!"

The crowd all backed him up, shouting in agreement.

"I refuse to let a mere gourmet hunter decide my fate!"  
"Too bad you got stuck with a mere gourmet hunter as your examiner. Better luck next year."

Menchi had struck the last nerve of #255. He lunged forward at Menchi, enraged, but was easily knocked flying by Buhara.

"Let me make this clear. We venture frequently into the den of some ferocious creature in search of ingredients. You lack focus and the willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from being hunters!"

Everyone was stunned. But what she said made sense.

 _'Just as I thought, every hunter had to take the exam and pass it, gourmet hunters included. There is not separate exam for gourmet hunters, the reason there is such thing is because some ingredients can be difficult to obtain.'_

"That being said, it would be excessive to fail all but one applicant!"

To everyone's surprise, a voice from a loudspeaker rung over us all.

' _Oh my god is that... The chairman?! I can't believe it that's that chairman's voice!'_

Making his dramatic entrance, jumping out from an airship landed none other than the chairman Netero, landing unscathed although he fell a long distance.

"I work behind the scenes, I only take action when there is a problem, like now." The old man, with his elongated ear lobes and long eyebrows, addressed the 2nd phase examiner.

Menchi's attitude completely changed in appearance of her senpai. In the blink of an eye she went from angry and frustrated to respectful and obedient.

"You failed the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?" said Chairman Netero.  
"No sir, I got angry when one of the applicants insulted gourmet hunters, and I made the exam harder than usual."  
"In other words, you were aware this exam was not acceptable."  
"Yes sir. When cooking is involved, I lose control. I am unqualified to be an examiner. I will resign as an examiner, so please redo the 2nd phase." She had turned sheepish in front of the old man. Just like that, a confession made its way out of her mouth.  
"But, it'll be difficult to find another examiner. How about this - you create a new test, but you must also participate in the test you propose."  
"Then the new challenge will be boiled eggs! Chairman, can you take us to mount, Split-in-half?"  
"I see, certainly I can."

* * *

 **Hey, I posted the 3rd chapter not too much later! I guess I'm really enjoying writing this even if it doesn't get much attention lol. You can expect a fourth chapter, but don't get your hopes up . Thanks for reading! Thanks for all the follows and favourites! :D**

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	4. Doubles x path

**_Disclaimer_** **: I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

Izuku POV

After an incredibly short airship ride, we arrived at Mount. Split-in-half. Looking down the huge ravine, revealed a thick network of webs from the Spider eagle, of which beneath were bundles of many eggs.

Menchi jumped down into the abyss of webs, and stylishly caught onto one of them. She dropped, and grabbed an egg... but kept falling.  
She disappeared into the fog within the ravine, only to reappear, shooting back up in a strong gust of wind.

"By the way, you don't have to do this as you already passed." She mentioned to Kacchan, once she landed back onto her two feet.

It certainly looked terrifying, #255 from earlier agreed, saying "No one in their right mind would jump down there!"

Yet, without hesitation, Leorio, Kurapika, Gon and Killua all jumped forward into the ravine.

"Izuku! Come on!" Gon looked back, noticing I hadn't come with them.  
"O-okay!" I overcame my fears and jumped, I didn't want to disappoint my newly found friends. Besides, I couldn't have them all pass, and then I fail from from a lack of courage.

One by one, people jumped in after us motivated by the confidence in the four.

Once everyone had caught onto one of the strings of webs, we all waited with baited breath. We didn't know when the gust of wind would come.  
And there was a possibility the web would break from all the weight.

One person jumped down, but not at the right time. He plummeted to his death, due to the lack of an up draft.

"Wait." Gon closed his eyes and wriggled his nose. It must be that superior smelling of his.

Just as I thought, the web tugged down, it wouldn't be able to hold us all for much longer.  
More and more people dropped, desperate to get the egg, ignoring that there was no updraft yet. I swallowed, knowing it was pointless feeling pity for those who had fallen to their death, yet the feeling ate at my gut.

Just when the web was about to snap, at the sound of Gon's assurance, everyone dropped at once to grab an egg, trusting Gon.  
Right on cue, an up draft shot us all up in the nick of time, allowing us all to land back on our feet on solid ground.

' _I'm so glad... That was terrifying! I need to keep my cool though. Anyway, all we need to do now is boil the egg!'_

Once finished, everyone bit into their eggs, shocked by the mouth-watering taste.

By the look of the size of the group, less than 100 people were left on the 2nd phase.

/

Everyone made their way into the airship again, on our way to the 3rd phase, gathering by Chairman Netero.

"Allow me to introduce myself to the 45 remaining applicants."

' _45 huh... Usually there are five or six phases, and I don't think I have ever seen more than 10 people pass the exam at once in all the information I could find. That means over 3/4 of the people here are going to fail.'_

"I am Netero, chairman of this year's hunter exam selection committee."  
"I'm Beans, his assistant." The small green man who handed us our badges at the beginning spoke up, standing on the chairman's side.

They both had a casual cheery atmosphere about them.

"Originally I planned to appear in the final phase, but I'm already here so... I love the tension! I think I'll stay for the rest of the trip," The old man chuckled.  
"We will reach our destination at 8am tomorrow morning. Dinner is waiting in the dining hall. You are allowed to do anything until contacted," explained Beans

"Alright! Gon... Izuku Katsu- spikey-hair, let's go explore the airship!" Killua's exclaimed in excitement.

"Eh? Oh, I-I was thinking I should get some rest, I want to be prepared for the next phase." I shut down Killua's suggestion, to his dismay, before I ended up regretting not doing so.  
"I'll pass too then I guess." Surprisingly, Kacchan agreed with me. He had always been one to take on a challenge, whether it's actually a challenge or not.  
"Really? Okay then. Killua let's go!"

At Gon's approval, the two ran off, cheerful at the prospect.

' _How can they be so full of energy? I need to use this time to conserve my energy, otherwise I'll be in trouble in the next phase."  
_

"How can they be so full of energy? I'm hitting the sack." Leorio spoke my exact thoughts.  
"You can say that again. However, I have one concern - how many more phases are there?"  
"W-well I looked it up before coming here, and it said five to six phases, so 3 or four more to go. It also said once we pass the third phase, we can automatically take the exam without the pre-exam."  
"I see... Anyway, I don't think we have been properly acquainted. The exam has been intense thus far, and we haven't had much time to chat about other things. I'm Kurapika, as you must've heard."  
"I'm I-Izuku." I decided to only say my first name. Although I was quite uncomfortable, only my mother had called me Izuku before Killua and Gon, but it would've been strange seeing as they were all using first names.

I nudged Kacchan, he didn't look as if he was paying much attention.

"Katsuki."

Kurapika and Leorio had a very relaxing, gentle aura about them. We were walking out of the room, finding a place to rest, when we were interrupted by a familiar but unwanted voice.

"He's right. There are usually five to six phases."  
"Yeah we know! Didn't you hear us belly-nose!?" Kacchan aggressively retorted at the middle-aged man. It was something we all wanted to do, but were too nice to actually try.  
"I was going to say, you might want to be careful. The old man only said when we would arrive at our destination. It's possible that the 3rd exam could take place on this ship itself, and it doesn't necessarily mean we'll be contacted at 8am. You might wake up early to-"

He was cut short by a punch to the face, by an enraged blonde.

"Oi! No ones buying your crap belly-nose. Fuck off before I make you quit the exam for good!"  
"Kacchan!" I warned him. It could not be good to harm another applicant out of the exam. Everyone was shocked at his vulgar action, however I was used to it.  
"Jeez! Calm down! I'm trying to help!" Tonpa put on a fake innocent look, evidently fake, no-one could fall for it.  
"Yeah, as if! They would inform us to be wary, at the very least if the next phase were to take place anytime here. It would test our mental capacity! Not knowing when the next phase is would mean we can't fucking rest. You fucking think we're all that dumb."

Furious that his trick didn't work, Tonpa stormed off, leaving us be to rest. Once Kurapika and Leorio had recovered from the shock at witnessing Kacchan's vulgar behaviour first hand, we lay down to rest, dozing off fairly quickly.

Fortunately, we all slept soundly until we had arrived.

/

We all disembarked the airship, stepping onto a tall tower by the name of trick tower. With only one goal set, and a time limit of 72 hours, we were at a loss of what to do. We had to get to the bottom of the tower, alive - jumping and climbing down was out of the question, the smooth brick with no obvious hand or foot holds would prove difficult to climb down, and one climber had met their end from some carnivorous birds from climbing down.

" _If we can't jump down or climb down, the only way down would be through the tower, but how would we accomplish that? There are no trapdoors or openings in sight. It's possible we have to break through the tower, but it looks like there are less people than when we began, so either they all jumped or climbed off, or they found a secret opening."_

"Izuku your doing it again."

I was brought to my senses my an exasperated Killua.

"H-huh? Oh! S-sorry." I sheepishly laughed it off. They would have to get used to my mumble storms if they were to be near me.

"Look! I found a hidden door!" Gon announced out of the blue, our entry to completing the phase.  
"But I'm confused, there are 4 more hidden doors, over there, there and there."  
"That many? Maybe some are rigged, or maybe they are one time uses, and only are a limited number, so eventually if your too slow on the uptake, you would be stuck up here without knowing why?" I contemplated.  
"The size is only fit for one person as well. We'll have to split up," said Kurapika.  
"Gon, did you see any other hidden doors around this area?" I asked.  
"No. Just these 5."  
"Hmm... _So could it be that it's placed randomly, and it's chance that there are 5 close by each other? Or is this done in groups, and that's why they are bunched up. I counted 23 other people, 29 including us, but that is not divisible by five. there could be the possibility the size of the group varies, however it could also mean we do it solo..."  
_ "Again..." Killua huffed.  
"Ah! S-sorry... it's a habit of mine I can't break..."  
"Although it is suspicious that there are five grouped together, it's better to assume we'll be alone. Let's go down these then, we'll see each other at the bottom," said Kurapika.  
"But there's only 5, there's 6 of us," Leorio pointed out.  
"Y-you four can go together, Kacchan and I can go find one more, then go down those."  
I glanced over at Kacchan, who was silent.  
"Ok, we'll leave it to you then. We'll see each other at the bottom I hope," Kurapika said, sensing agreement.

We all said our farewells, and Kacchan and I walked off to find one, hopefully two more hidden doors.

"Deku, c'mere. Here's two. "  
"R-really? Let's go then."  
"We'll see each other at the base of the tower, let's go."  
"Y-yeah."

We both stepped onto the flaps at the same time, and fell through the floor.  
Fortunately we landed in the same room.

"K-kacchan! I'm glad we're together, do you think they are as well?"  
"Whatever, I don't care. Don't drag me down nerd."

It was for the better we were together. Although Kacchan didn't like to admit it, I knew he was looking out for me. I remember my mother's last words to him were to look after me, he really took it to heart.

We both spotted a stand with two watches, with some writing above

 _The two of you must show excellent team work to reach the goal._

The watch read the time remaining - 71:03:45.

As the doorway opened, we heard a voice from behind us, coming from a speaker.

"My name is Lippo, your prison warden, and the 3rd phase examiner. Multiple paths have been set throughout the tower, you have chosen the doubles path. Teamwork will be key if you want to clear this phase of the exam. Best of luck gentleman!"

"Do you think that was a recorded message, or was it live?" I wondered.  
"Does it matter? Either way we have about 71 hours to get to the bottom. The doorway's open, so let's go," Kacchan grunted.

Through the doorway we found another sign, reading:

 _Here you must split paths, the next part will open once one person is stood on each slab by each doorway._

"Didn't they say this way teamwork? Do you think it's so that we must rely on teamwork, and there is absolutely no way to do it without cooperation from both people?"  
"Duh," he scoffed.  
I nodded my head shakily.

' _Teamwork is going to be difficult with him...'_

We both stepped on the different slabs, and the doorway in front of us opened. There was a thin path in front of us, falling off meant falling into a dark abyss below. On my left there was a glass wall separating me and Kacchan.  
Once we stepped into the path, the doorway behind us shut, and the path beneath my feet began to crumble.

The only way was forward, but not for long. I reached the end of the path, bricks behind be crumbling into the abyss.

"K-kacchan! Can you see something on your side? Like a button or lever?" I frantically called to Kacchan.

All of a sudden, a path built itself in front of me, allowing me to continue.

A lever appeared on the ground before me, and at Kacchan's shouts, I understood the same thing happening to me was happening to him.

Without hesitation, I pulled the lever, and looking to my left, saw bricks building in front of him.

Then we reached a standstill.  
We were both stuck on small blocks, with no obvious way forward.

Suddenly, I noticed the glass beginning to blacken, blocking our views of our teammate. Shouting to each other showed the block wasn't soundproof, however now things would be harder without being able to see each other.

Through the speaker, we heard the voice of the examiner:

"Look at your timers."

Obeying the instructions, the timer showed writing:

 _This is your opportunity to pass. If you press the button below, your teammate's time will cease working, and the platform they are standing on will crumble. This will form a path in front of you, for you to reach the base. If you accept these terms, shout. However do not fret. The watch only accepts noises from nearby, so only your shout can activate this._

 _'I see... I'm going to assume that Kacchan has had the same message on his watch, as otherwise it wouldn't say the final message. There is pressure, as you are unknown as to whether the other person will betray you, so you are more likely to betray them quickly out of fear and distrust. There is a possibility you will be punished for betraying however, as the point of this path is teamwork and cooperation. We also can't communicate with our partner, as if we make a noise, the switch will be activated, and we are unable to see each other through the black glass. I must be careful not to mutter out loud.'_

I stood there, intently watching the screen of the watch, our time ticking down steadily 70:56:23 it read. Since I hadn't heard any shouts, Kacchan either hadn't received the message, or had decided to not accept. I wouldn't betray Kacchan. I did not waver in my decision, so all I could do was wait.

/

Ten long minutes passed.

My watch's screen flickered, then showed the original timer screen again. A new path opening before me, encased in walls this time. It looked like a maze was forming

"Deku! What do you see on your side?"

I was surprised to hear Kacchan's voice after a solid 10 minutes of silence. He must've also received the message

"Th-there's a path building itself, it looks like a maze."  
"Ok."  
"Did you get that message on your watch? About b-betrayal?"  
"Yeah, and no, I'm not that stupid to fall for a trick like that."  
"W-well yeah... Anyway, let's go."

A maze was troubling. Although easy enough if you keep your hand on one wall and follow it, it would take time, and time was the most valuable thing to us as of now.

I wandered through the maze, I knew if I wandered aimlessly without a plan, chances are I'd get lost, so I decided to take it slow, and follow the wall.

Sure enough, after an hour, I reached a lever, with the glass (now clear) on my left, revealing Kacchan.

"Finally! Damn nerd, do you have no sense of direction?"  
"Huh?"  
"The door opens when both levers are pulled, I pulled mine 30 minutes ago."  
"W-why didn't you say anything t-then?"  
"I was trying! You didn't reply!"  
"Hmm... Do you think the walls of the maze are soundproof then?"  
"Whatever, let's finish this.

Our paths merged once again to a thin shaft leading down. We couldn't jump down, it'd surely be the end of our lives.

"I see your at a loss for what to do inmates. The obstacles before were merely child's play. Find a way down this shaft." Without warning, another speaking sounding from behind us spoke.

"W-what?" I stuttered.  
"How the hell are we supposed to get down here?"

We walked around the black gaping tunnel. It was square-shaped, with rough stone making the walls. At the very top, there were two handled opposite each other.

I grabbed a lose pebble and tossed it down.

...

...  
 _Thud._

I looked at Kacchan, hoping he would know what to do. He stared down at the deep hole without looking back up. After circling a few more times, he looked up - he had an idea.

"Stand opposite me," he ordered.

I listened without hesitation.

"Turn around and hold onto the handle."

I looked over my shoulder to see him doing the same on his side.

"Slower lean backward, but keep your feet on the ground and hold onto the handle."  
I gulped, taking another look down the vast blackness of the shaft. I knew what to do.

At the same time, we leaned backwards, and our backs met.

"Deku, you better not fucking fall."

We pushed our backs against each other, shoes gripping onto the rough edges of the wall, and let go of the handle.  
If we didn't step together, we would fall.  
One mess up, and we would fall.

It was a long tunnel.

...

I wasn't looking at my timer, as that would be suicide, but it felt like 3 hours had already passed by. Time was moving screechingly slow from the exertion, yet so fast, from the time pressure.  
We couldn't see the bottom, or the top, it felt like we were climbing down the entire tower in one fell swoop.

/

We fell. My foot slipped as Kacchan readjusted himself, and our four vital points of contact went down to three.

We were doomed.

I withheld the urge to scream, but Kacchan's yells reverberated around the tunnel anyway, until we landed. Painfully, but with no serious injuries. In our concentration, we didn't notice we were a few metres from the bottom.

I checked my timer, and it read 65:26:02. We had spent 4 hours and 20 minutes, going down one shaft. My muscles screamed.

We hoped we were close to the finish, but we still had a long way to go.

At the end of the hallway we walked through, tired from the previous ordeal, but anxious for time, we noticed we had entered a large room, with a large platform in the middle. at the other end stood two figures, shackled and cloaked.

"Let me explain gentleman." Right on cue, the familiar voice of Lippo echoed in the room. "You are facing 2 of Trick towers prisoners. The hunter exam committee has also officially hired them as examiners. You will fight against them at the same time. You are free to use whatever method. There will be no draws."

Both of the figures' shackles fell off, and they tore off their cloak, revealing a man with bulging muscles and tan skin, a bloodthirsty look on his face. His black, sleek hair fell just below his shoulders, and he wore muddy brown trousers, shirtless. The other was a woman, with navy wavy hair, shaved on one side, reaching he waist on the other. She wore a baggy beige shirt, and the same trousers as the other inmate. As a contrast to her piercing crimson eyes, she had pale skin. She looked deep in thought.

"This is teamwork, so you fight together, and need to win to pass." His voice boomed, the room amplifying with echo.  
"U-umm, I have a question. I-if the time limit runs out, is it an automatic loss for us?"  
"Of course," grinned the man.  
"I see... _So we are also battling against time. They have the advantage as they could simply wait it out, thus meaning we lose. Time will be crucial here."  
_ "Deku. Stop."  
"A-ah! Y-yes sorry..."

From both ends of the room, bridges appeared, linking each side to the centre. Both sides stepped forward at the same time.

"When you lose, you will be forced to stay here until the 72 hours are up. Once that happens our sentences will be reduced by 72 years."

At his bold confidence, the other prisoner whispered to him, their mutters inaudible to me, yet increasing in volume the more they spoke.  
It was like they were arguing.

' _So does that mean 1 hour equals 1 year? If we still win, but only at 71 hours or something, does that mean their sentences are reduced by 71 years or do they have to win in order to get 72 hours? Either way, they simply need to buy time.'_

"Now, let's determine the method of combat. I propose a death match, the fight will end when each person on one team has either died or given up. Only one of you giving up won't change anything, however if your partner dies, it is still possible for you to pass. Although that definitely wont happen."  
"Bring it on!"  
"K-kacchan! But-!"  
"Come on Deku! You can sit at the sidelines, and watch me destroy them!"

* * *

 **Another chapter? I didn't think I would be able to write even more haha. Sorry this chapter got so long (compared to the other chapters anyway). I looked at the word count and realised it was too long, but I didn't know where to cut it off so I continued it. Usually the cut off comes naturally to me so I don't worry about the word count, but the word count usually gets to about 2,000 lol.**

 **What do you think of the prisoners? I'm not very good at OCs, but I had to make two here**

 **Thanks for reading, following and favouriting! X) And thanks for all the reviews!**

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	5. Teamwork x is x key?

**_Disclaimer:_** **I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

Izuku POV

The bridges behind us retracted, leaving the four of us to stand on the same square area.

"K-kacchan, we should think of-"  
"Why are you always like this?! This is why we got imprisoned!"

To our awe, the navy haired woman threw a punch at her partner, hitting him square in the face.

"Fine! Fight them by yourself!" The man retorted, retreating to the edge of the arena.

"Oi! Your fucking underestimating me aren't you! Come at me with all you've got!"

From underneath the prisoner's straight raven hair, I spotted the slightest smirk.

Kacchan, enraged, lunged forward, his fist making contact with her stomach

At his rash sudden action, she showed a worried face, but quickly covered it with a fake smile, lying on the ground.

I had to follow his lead.

In an attempt to grab her, and leave her hanging over the edge, in order to make her give up, I sprinted towards the woman.  
I missed her by a hair.

She rolled swiftly, but ungracefully, out of the way, and hastily stood on her two feet, only for Kacchan to aim a kick for her knees.  
Once again, he missed by a hair.

She threw a punch at Kacchan's stomach, but I saw him dodge easily.  
At this feat, another sign of distress showed on her pale face.  
At this rate, Kacchan could easily overpower her, let alone us together.

I decided to leave her to Kacchan, although the man had retreated to the corner, I didn't want him to ambush us when we least expect it.

I turned to the corner he was sitting.  
He was gone.

Before I knew it, I was pinned to the ground on my front, by a large, heavy person - clearly not the woman.

On instinct, I yelped, but this was a fatal mistake. Kacchan heard me and turned to me, but in the one second, his eyes taken off of the woman, the woman jumped him.

Now we were both completely at their mercy, I hate to say it, but we fell for their facade hook line and sinker.

 _'Dammit! I saw him smirk, I should've figured it out! What can I do what can I do what can I do... Think! Think! What would a hunter do in this situation? If I surrender, will they let their guard down? I have my water bottle in my belt, maybe...'_

I felt firm hands enclose around my neck. He was either going to strangle me, or break my neck.

In an instant, I shuffled my hands to my belt and unscrewed my water bottle, splashing it over him. He was surprised enough to give me some slack, enough to slither my hands underneath my body, and push against the floor, bringing my legs up to push as well.

Once I successfully pushed him off my back, I stood up and tackled the woman, and although she avoided easily, Kacchan was free. Her speed was surprising though - she was faking earlier.

The problem was I overestimated the size of the area, and was diving headfirst over the edge.

Without warning me, Kacchan grabbed my leg, and swung me towards the other two, attempting to attack him at once.  
If he had warned me, they would've been able to dodge.

The woman toppled over, however the man stood immovable, still as a rock.

Before I could crash into the floor, I held my hands in front of me as a spring, and bounced back onto my feet. I could easily ignore the pain.

' _Now's my chance!'_

Before the woman could get back up, I aimed a kick to her left - she would roll to dodge, and could only roll right (my left), due to the gaping edge on her left (my right) and in turn roll into my kick.  
It hit its mark.  
Ahead of her reactions, I grabbed her arms and pinned her down.

"Give up or I'll roll you off the edge!"  
"Do you have the guts to do that?" She shot me a sly grin, testing my nerves.

I had to pass the hunter exam, but I wouldn't kill for it.

I pushed her closer to the edge.

"I-I'm serious! Give up!"  
"You stuttered." Her grin did not falter.  
"Deku hurry up! I don't know how long I can hold this guy off!"  
"I... I'm going to g-give you to the count of 3! 1!"  
"You don't have the guts." Although she was still grinning, her eyes had darkened.  
"2!"  
"Just do it for fucks sake Deku! These guys are prisoners! They've probably killed lot's of people!"  
"1!"  
"Okay I give up!"

Perhaps it was seeing Kacchan hold her partner back that made her give up. Perhaps she had a plan. Perhaps it was a fear for her life that made her give up. Perhaps Kacchan's words made her give up, but either way once we forced a surrender out of the man's mouth, we would have passed.

As I let her go, she dawdled towards the corner.

Kacchan was gripping onto the prisoners arms, keeping him at bay. Neither could kick with their legs, as that would be fatal - if they lifted a leg off the ground, their balance would shift onto their other leg, but for a second, be uneven, which would mean the end.

"Give up. We have the advantage."

Saying these words, I gripped his right hand, Kacchan moving both his hands to his left.

"How about we make a deal." From behind us, in the corner, the woman spoke up.  
"A deal?"  
"Yes, all we need is to buy time. If you sit here for another 50 hours, we will let you go, and you will be free to continue the exam. However if you do not accept, I will have to fight. Just because I said I give up, doesn't mean I can't fight. It only means that once my partner says I give up, you will pass."  
"Oi! We're about to win anyway so can it you half-shaved fuckwit!"

At Kacchan's words, she stood up, and walked towards Kacchan. He had his hands full, however I could go fight her.  
That would mean our failure however, as the battle would be kept at a stalemate, ultimately meaning their victory.

"Are you sure about that? If I rejoin the battle, this will be held at a stalemate. We will then win from time. If you give us 50 hours your chances of passing this phase will be 10% rather than 0."  
"Don't fucking underestimate me!"  
"Kacchan! That's what they want us to think. Enraging us so we cannot think clearly, will only help them. I won't accept 50 hours. How about 10?"

I eyed kacchan, he looked determined, not enraged. Having known him for 13 years, I trusted my childhood friend, and grabbed the man's other arm.

"10? That's too little, I will only settle for-"

He was fast, although I knew what he was planning to do, all I saw was a blur.  
She was interrupted by a punch to the face from a ferocious blonde.

Without giving her time to regain her senses, he grabbed her arms, and dangled her over the edge.

"Oi. If you don't give up, I'm going to drop your partner over the edge."

' _In a teamwork path, it would make sense for the prisoners to also be excellent at teamwork. This likely means they already know each other, and thus care about each other. Their biggest strength, would be their biggest downfall.'_

"I don't care. Go ahead" The man attempted to show an apathetic face, although I could clearly see the concern in his eyes.  
"I'm giving you to the count of 3. 3!"  
"It's okay! Once you win, you'll only have 15 years of prison left! Forget about me!"  
"2!"  
Silence. The man was at a loss for words, at the speech of his partner.  
"1!"  
"I give up! Stop!"  
"That's more like it."

As promised, Kacchan brought her back onto solid ground.

At the announcement of their loss, the bridge crossing to the other side opened up.

The timer read 64:43:57.

* * *

 **After a longer previous chapter, we have a short chapter. Huh, this was not on purpose XD**

 **I'm not very good at writing battle scenes, I hope this chapter made sense!**

 **Thanks for all the follows and favourites!**

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	6. Break x through

**I realised I accidentally said 42 remaining applicants in chapter 4, but actually it'd be 45 and also Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio's numbers (plus some other guys that have a plate above 392) should all be up by 3 with Izuku, Katsuki, and... wait who's the 3rd extra character? .*nudge nudge wink wink* :) I changed the 45 mistake, but im not bothered to change the number plate one... I know it's lazy but then I'd have to change so many character's number plates...**

 ** _Disclaimer:_** **I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

Izuku POV

64:43:57

Following the previous two challenges, the next ones were cakewalks. All we had to worry about was our time, slipping away like water in cupped hands.

After running from a boulder, walking through mazes, avoiding lasers, and other obstacles of the sort, we found ourselves in what looked like the final room, with over 15 hours to spare.

In front of us, a statue of a woman above a large metal door stood. An assorted array of weapons adorned every inch of the walls, from common weapons such as swords, and daggers, to rarer ones such as tridents.

"In order to pass the 3rd phase, you must get past this door. The door will only be opened after someone is secured to the wall with handcuffs." Lippo's voice sounded through a statue above referenced door.

"I see... Even if strangers at the beginning, two people would bond over facing these challenges together. B-but... Kacchan... what should we do?"  
"Bust the wall down that's fucking what."

Saying this as if it was a given, Kacchan swung an axe straight at the wall next to the course, to no avail however.

" _How can we cheat the system... destroying the wall or door is clearly a no go, as Kacchan is demonstrating."_

I ignored the constant thud of Kacchan swinging an axe at the wall, accompanied with his yelling, and muttered my thoughts.

" _Perhaps we could use a dummy? I can see a camera in the corner, likely to deter the applicant from cheating, so if we just cover it... But what would we use for the dummy? Would they go so far as to make the handcuffs have sensors, in order to make sure it is a living being? What if the applicants killed the other one? Then a dead body would have to suffice... Would that mean cutting off our arms would suffice? No no no, Izuku what are you thinking, that's crazy we'd faint from blood loss..."_

I glanced at the weapons, beckoning us to use them in order to fight. Although I had no intention of fighting Kacchan, I picked up a small knife for later use, slotting it in my belt, it would certainly come in handy if we made it past this dilemma.

" _Should I cover the camera first? Or maybe we can break the camera? Yes, that should deal with that.."_

I tentatively stood up, and grabbed an axe from the wall.

Walking slowly to the camera, I held my hand ready and...

 _FWING_

To my surprise, the axe bounced off the camera, not leaving even a dent... it was almost like there was a force field protecting it...

Not giving up, I swung my axe again, but to no avail.

All could be heard in the room was

THUD*FWING*THUD*FWING*

After a few hits, I gave up, brute force wouldn't work.

"Kacchan! That's not gonna work, we need to figure something out!"

There we likely audio devices in the room too, so I brought my voice to a low whisper, hoping they wouldn't pick up.

"M-maybe we can create a dummy of some sort?"  
"Why are you whispering deku? You fucking testing my hearing? I can hear you perfectly!"  
Contrasting my low whisper, Kacchan shouted as loud as ever.  
"N-no! There are likely audio devices in this room. We need to cheat for both of us to pass."  
"You think they will just let us cheat? This is the fucking hunter exam, doesn't matter whether we discuss it quietly or loudly, we can't cheat!"  
He hadn't lowered his volume, in fact if anything he had increased it.  
"W-well... It's still worth a shot. We can-"  
"Forget about your stupid dummies, let's just break down the wall."  
Giving up on hiding our discussion, I spoke normally. "B-but you've been swinging at it for the past 5 minutes, that's not gonna work."  
"How about you help me you damn nerd! Then we could at least get some progress!"

Ending the discussion, Kacchan once again picked up his axe swung with all his might against the wall.

'Although his temper can really get to him, he was resilient in not giving up. When I was thinking he kept hitting... which actually-'

My thoughts were cut short by another thud, except this time, instead of being accompanied with a groan, there was a victory shout.

"See! You were wrong Deku it did work!"

Diminishing all my doubts, I picked up the other axe, and swung it at the wall with him, a huge grin on my face.

/

We swung for 3 hours, my arms ached from fatigue. But we kept going, we had made a decent dent in the wall.

Finally, after smashing the wall with all our power, the wall broke down.

On the other side we could see many bewildered faces of the other applicants.

I realised they must've been incredibly confused, after hearing constant thuds coming from behind the wall for 3 hours.

"Katsuki, applicant #391 is the fourteenth to pass. Izuku, applicant #392 is the fifteenth to pass. Total time 60 hours and 39 minutes."

We stepped out from behind the wall into a spacious room. After looking for a while, I could not spot Gon, Killua, Leorio or Kurapika.

Avoiding all the stares, we both made our way to an unoccupied area in the room.

' _Great, that's probably drawn lot's of unwanted attention to ourselves, although I don't know how bad of a thing that is... I don't like it...'_

Sweat glistened all over my body. I was anxious, as I wanted Gon and the others to pass, but I was so fatigued after constant activity for over 60 hours straight, that I fell asleep as soon as I sat down.

/

I slept for 11 hours, undisturbed. The time remaining was less than an hour, and looking around, there was still no sign of any of our newfound friends.

"Kacchan, d-do you think t-they'll make it?"  
"They fucking better, if I drew in a race with them then they should be good enough."

I sat, impatiently anticipating for them to appear through a door. I stared intently at the timer, watching every minute tick down.

/

There was a minute left. Kacchan had given up on them making it, but I still stared at the timer faithfully.

All of a sudden,

"Kurapika, applicant #404, is the twenty-third to pass. Killua, applicant #99, is the twenty-fourth to pass. Gon, applicant #405, is the twenty-fifth to pass. Total time, seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes."

It was like a bolt from the blue. There, the three of them stood, Kurapika downcast, Gon confident, and Killua annoyed.

"Took you guys long enough! Like to keep us on our toes? Those bastards." Unafraid of the aspiring, clearly capable hunters filling the room, Kacchan broke the silence that followed.

' _But where's Leorio?'_ I was incredibly happy at their success, however, concern began to overtake me, as Leorio wasn't behind them. Although I was certainly closer with Killua and Gon, I wanted them all to pass.

"30 seconds remain!" The loudspeaker furthered my concerns.

"You made it! I'm so glad!" I ran up with Kacchan to meet them, forgetting about the dull ache throughout my whole body from fatigue. "B-but... do you know where Leorio is?"

Right on cue, the familiar voice of a man, supposedly in his teens showed himself, announcing his presence before the speaker had a chance to.

"Right here!"  
"Leorio, applicant #403, is the twenty-sixth to pass. Tonpa, applicant #16, is the twenty-seventh to pass. Total time seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes."

Much to my dismay, Tonpa had come with them, through the same opening, at the same time.

"The third phase has ended. 27 applicants have passed. One has died."

Before I could ask any further questions, the end of the phase was signalled, and the doors exiting the tower opened.

Greeting us stood a man with a pink Mohawk and glinting glasses.

"Congratulations on escaping Trick tower. Only the fourth and the final phase remain. The fourth will take place on Zevil Island. Let us proceed."

At the click of his fingers, a box on a stand was brought over.

"I will need you to draw lots in order to determine who will hunt, and who will be hunted. Here are 27 numbered cards. In other words, your ID numbers are on the cards. Now I need you each to draw a card based on the order you exited the tower."

First to step forward was Hisoka.

' _Our ID numbers are on our cards? Does that mean... Dammit! I knew attention would be bad! I need to hide my own tag and remember everyone else's tags.'_

I took my tag off my chest and placed it in my belt for now, nudging Kacchan and Gon to do the same. I caught Kurapika and Killua's eyes, and they did the same, following my line of thought. Kurapika nudged Leorio to do follow.

' _#44 - Hisoka. I won't have trouble remembering that, however if I do have him as my target... Anyway #301 - Needle guy. Again I won't forget him. # 294 #384 #53 #371 #281 #246 #211 #34 #80... Gahhhhh too many numbers! Hmm if I group them together? That'll only work with #197, #198 and #199 as they're brothers. Defining features of each applicant? #294 - bald head, #246 - weird hat, #80 - shades, #118 - monkey, #211 - long scarf...'_

"#392 hurry up!" I was eyeing every person, inspecting them all carefully, shutting out all sound until people were shouting at me to go."A-ah! I'm s-sorry! I-I'll go!"

It was quite defeating to have everyone shouting at you, with glares directed at you. Fortunately I had already put my tag away, so the attention wouldn't add, however, I already had garnered enough.

"Hey Izuku, why did we all put our tags away?" Gon asked me, as I came back.  
"Because someone's gonna hunt for us, identifying us with our tag," Kacchan replied for me.  
"Oh I see."

Everyone had taken their cards, and were told to remove the seals on them.

#80

' _The woman with the shades!'_

Triumphantly, I spotted the woman with the shades, identifying my target.

"The card indicates your target."

At these words, everyone gasped, and covered their tags, hiding them. But it was too late.

"This box has recorded the number of each card you drew. That means you are free to dispose of the cards if you wish. The objective is to steal your target's number plate."

I sighed in relief.

 _'Thank goodness, we don't have to kill anyone or drag any unconscious bodies...'_

"Of course you're free to use any method to obtain said number plate, including killing the target, and taking the tag of the corpse. Your target's tag is worth 3 points. Your own is worth 3 points. Any other tag is worth one point. Overall you must end up with 6 points. That is the condition for clearing the fourth phase of the hunter exam."

At the explanation, we all made our way onto a boat that would transport us to the island.

' _So we need to fight against other applicants now... Well, I guess not necessarily, we could steal the tag secretly, however someone is also targeting you, so you must be cautious at all times.'_

/

The boat had a tense atmosphere about it. The guide of the boat couldn't crack it with her cheerful demeanour. Once she had explained all there was to be told, the group dispersed.

"Oi Deku! Who's your target?"  
"I-I don't think it's ok to say..."  
"Why not? Do you have me?"  
"N-no..."  
"Then why?"  
"I... I don't know... Okay, but show me yours too. At the same time."

We both held up ours cards at the count of three.

#211

"I have no fucking clue who that is. I don't know who I've got either."  
"I remembered, I have the lady with the shades and the rifle. For your one... _Come on! Who was it... Ah yes!_ The lady with the scarf!"  
"Fucking nerd. How the fuck should I know who that is?"  
"W-well... I'll point it out to you when we see her."  
"Fine. By the way Deku, you're going to stay with me and I'm going to help you get your target ok?"  
"H-huh? Why?"  
"Because I said so! Accept my help you damn nerd!"  
"O-okay! I guess, I'll h-help you too then."  
"Don't need it."  
"Umm... let's go see Gon and Killua, make sure they don't have us."  
"Fine. If they do though that doesn't mean I will show mercy on them."

Sitting against the edge, on the opposite side of the boat we found them.

"So... who are your t-targets?"  
They looked at each other in hesitation.  
"What about you two?" Killua asked.  
"We don't have you, don't worry," Kacchan said.  
"Us neither," said Gon.  
"Want to show them at the s-same time?" I asked tentatively, ready to dodge if they didn't accept.  
"Ok!"

Killua revealed his card showing #199.

Gon revealed #44.

I was shocked. Lost for words. How could Gon have the luck to land with him?

"That's..."  
"Hisoka..."  
"You have bad luck..."  
"Do you know who #199 is?" Killua spoke up.  
"Hmm... I tried to remember all their plates... _who was it again..._ Oh yeah! One of the brothers. I-I don't know which one though."  
"Oh! Was that why you spaced out when we were drawing the lots."  
"Hehe... y-yeah..."  
"You know your own target too?"  
"Yup! Luckily she had a feature that stood out."

/

After two hours, we arrived at Zevil Island, and each person disembarked the ship one by one, in the order in which they cleared the exam.

"Deku, I'll wait for you over there, when I see you I'll rustle some leaves. You better fucking come to me or I'll find you." Kacchan hissed, just before he departed. After two minutes, I set out after him.

The week on Zevil Island had commenced.

* * *

 **Notice the double meaning in the title! (break through the wall, but Izuku also has a breakthrough with remembering the tags lol)**

 **If you were wondering who the person in a scarf was... :)**

 **Also sorry for this chapter taking so long (well longer than usual) to be uploaded, I try to always stay one chapter ahead when uploading just in case and I had a good flow going until chapter 7 T_T And a heads up, after chapter 7, the next chapter is likely going to take ages because of school :(**

 **Thanks for following and favouriting, and all the reviews! Seeing all the reviews makes me so happy, keep them coming!**

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	7. Secrets x and x mysteries

**_Sorry this took so long! My excuse is one word: school._**

 ** _Disclaimer:_** **I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

Izuku POV

Sure enough, once I had walked into the forest, Kacchan was easy to find. I just hoped our own targets were close by and unsuspecting (they both went in before us) and the people with us for targets hadn't already entered the forest.

"God what took you so fucking long deku."  
"B-but we're supposed to wait 2 minutes..."  
"I waited longer than that!"  
"D-don't shout, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves..."  
"Whatever, those fucking extras can try and take my tag, no matter what they'll fail!" Kacchan exclaimed confidently, looking into the foliage expectantly.

As no one emerged in order to challenge on his statement, we kept moving forward carefully.

But we weren't careful enough.

Had it not been for his monster reflexes, Kacchan would've been dealt a fatal blow.  
He jumped just in time to avoid a mortal wound, however, an arrow pierced into his leg.

"Kacchan!"

In an attempt to find the attacker, I looked through the trees in the direction the arrow came from and was surprised to see... a trap?*

Now I could see it. A wire lay on the ground, unnoticeable before due to the mud and leaves camouflaging it.

' _A trap? I don't know how this works, I've never seen traps before. We need to be more careful, and watch our step.'  
_

"Kacchan! A-are you okay?"  
"What do you fucking think!"  
"I..."  
"Who fucking did that? Come out and fight face to face! An ambush won't work on me!"  
"Kacchan! It was a t-trap. Look!"

' _Is the person who set the trap nearby? They would've likely had a way of knowing if and when the trap was set if it was... and that means they could be coming for us any second! Wait, but they'll probably think it's only one person... Maybe if I hide I can ambush them? Or maybe Kacchan can hide and I can pretend I dodged it... no the arrow is stuck on his leg, if we pull it out then he'll lose too much blood,and the arrow head could get stuck in his skin... And in order to remove the arrow, I read one must enlarge the wound enough so the shaft can come back out without being lodged in the skin. But what if it pierced his bone? What should I do? I need to help Kacchan! Tend to his wound first and then plan an attack as there are no obvious direct attackers as of now... But then again what if they are coming right now? What should I do? Think! What is the best course to take?'_

"Kacchan, use this to bandage it, I'll take the arrow out! After we do that, I'm going to hide. Pretend you're alone, I'll ambush them." I took the initiative and instructed Kacchan, something I never thought I'd do, as I ripped off my sleeve from my tracksuit.

He followed through, even through the pain, as I enlarged the wound so I could remove the arrow safely.

We managed to get prepared before another attack, however I didn't know how prepared Kacchan had to be with his wound.

An arrow shot through the foliage, but from a different direction this time. Chances were, it was not a trap, and was an applicant. Kacchan managed to dodge, even with his injured leg. However this put him at a disadvantage.  
Slightly off balance after jumping sideways to avoid a hit, the attacker took the chance to make a direct attack.

She had a cream scarf.

I jumped down from the tree onto her back, snatching the ends of the scarf, and pulling with all my might so she would desist.  
However, instead the scarf fell off, she had anticipated such an attack.

Reacting quickly, I hopped onto my feet and discarded the clothing behind me. She whipped around to face me. I could see regret and concern in her eyes, but I didn't know why. In case it was simply a ploy in order to lower my guard, I threw a hard punch straight at the temple. I didn't want to kill anyone, so I just knocked her out.

I caught her as she fell unconscious and fumbled through her pockets, in search of her tag. Sure enough, it was in there #211. One down, one to go.

"Kacchan look!" I handed him the tag. At this point in time, he had passed, although now he had to maintain those points, with a wounded leg.  
" _Were one of us her target or did she simply lay a trap to catch any applicant... If it were the former she would've had to follow us for a while in order to figure out where we were going, and also have enough time to create the trap..."  
_ "Shut up Deku! We still need to find your target, and we have to idea."  
"W-wait!" I desperately shouted to Kacchan as he was leaving. "We should take her near to a stream, I don't want her to d-die..."  
"Who fucking cares! You wouldn't be able to knock her out for so long that she doesn't wake up for 3 days. Don't fucking waste our time. Let's go!"  
"B-but.."

Before I could utter any further complaints, he grabbed my arm and dragged me through the forest, an impressive feat for someone's with a wounded leg.

"Anyway, we still have a week. We need to rest, eat and drink in that time, so let's find a stream first, before we even fucking consider carrying her to one."

It was a valid point I had overlooked. We walked off in search of any water, as I noted the place we left her.

/

After having found some water within 3 hours - resting for a few minutes every now and then for kacchan's leg - and returning to the place we left her, we found she was gone. Likely had woken up and left. I also wanted to study the trap she had set for us, so I could perhaps utilise it later, but the trap had been removed. Perhaps she knew we would return to the same spot and changed the location of the trap, but it was gone. With nothing left to do, we sought for my target, more wary for any traps, we didn't want a repeat.

/

3 more days had passed without any signs of another an applicant. We were trudging around island aimlessly, with a vague goal in mind.

Finally, we found her, already deceased. Tag, of course, gone.  
Needle stabbed in the eye, mercilessly killed swiftly without struggle  
This was a problem, as our only lead on my tag had disappeared. My best bet was finding 3 other applicants and stealing their tags.

Then we felt it.

Chills running down our spine, hair standing on it's end, we felt the presence of Hisoka, sizing us up as if we were simply food to be devoured.

Acting on instinct, we both sprinted away from the clown.

' _Why is he here? Did he kill her? No that's unlikely, he doesn't use needles. There was that other strange applicant, Gittarackur I think though... There's no chance of us taking the tag from him, we can only try to obtain 3 other random tags if I want to pass... Actually, has Gon taken Hisoka's tag yet?'_

I risked a glance back to our assailant's chest, noticing the presence of his tag, still attached to his clothing.  
With this glance, I also noticed, he hadn't attacked us, unlike what I thought he would do.

"You're target's #80, is that so?" he smirked.

The instant I turned around, he caught my eye and rooted me to the spot with fear, facing Hisoka.

' _How does he know? Wait, if he saw us rummaging through #80's corpse looking for a tag, obviously one would assume it's their target, however it could also be that we simply wanted another tag as that would still benefit us... Maybe he's looking for the answer through our facial expression?'_

Although scared out of my wits, I kept a straight face as much as possible in order to not leak any information.

However I did not expect him to then pull out the very tag of #80.

' _So did he kill him? Or maybe it was given to him? Or perhaps he found it...'_

I had to get it to pass. Just trying to collect three random tags was plausible, but unlikely, as we had barely seen any other examinees since our first encounter. This would be my only opportunity.  
The problem was, no matter how fast or suddenly I acted, he would react faster. I'd have to create a reachable opportunity, but it'd be a bit hard to pull of an ambush when the person has already located you, and was thousands of times faster than you.

I pulled myself out of my frozen stance, and tentatively stepped closer to him.  
He raised a brow smugly.  
Step by step, shuffling closer to him, I closed the gap between me and my target's tag.  
Each step, however, became heavier and heavier, I could feel some unseen force pushing me back, dragging out every mundane action, even standing upright, to become a difficult task.

Right next to me, in spite of this strange feeling, I could see Kacchan striding past as if it was nothing.

"Hmm, I see..."  
I could see something sinister light up in his eyes, as he licked his lips.  
"Here. I didn't know you could use it." He smirked.

Simultaneously, I felt the strange force stop and saw the tag thrown to Kacchan, who was now a few steps away from Hisoka. A close enough range for him to kill with his outstretched arm. But he didn't. He merely stood there peacefully, at least peacefully compared to his usual self.

Once Kacchan smoothly caught the tag, he retreated backwards towards me, never taking his eyes off the magician.

As he stepped away, I followed suite, and we eventually sped up and the joker disappeared behind the trees, never moving from his spot.

"Deku, you okay?"

This was a first. I knew he cared, but he never showed the concern.

"Y-yes, Umm... Kacchan h-how did you-?"

At these words, he reverted back to his usual attitude.

"What do you mean how did I? I don't get why you fucking stopped!" In contrast to his fiery language, there was a pained look in his eyes.

He was hiding something.

I decided against prying.

/

It was peaceful the four remaining days, miraculously for us. The most action we had was gathering food for survival. Either #211 and our hunters couldn't find us, didn't want to find us, or didn't try to find us. Either way, it was a win, and the final day arrived, lying in wait near the starting point.

"The time limit for the fourth exam has ended. Would all applicants please return to the starting point at once. You will be given one hour extra. If you do not return during this time, you will fail the exam. Furthermore, you are not allowed to exchange tags once arriving at the starting point. Anyone caught swapping tags will be disqualified."

Like music to my ears, the end of the fourth phase was announced, and we emerged from our hiding spot into the open.

From a quick count, there were 8 of us, including me and Kacchan, however no sign of Gon, Kurapika or Leorio.

' _Gon's target was Hisoka... And as Hisoka is here, that likely means he didn't get his tag, so he either got 3 other tags, or failed... Would he be able to get 3 other tags though? I saw Hisoka holding up 4 tags, #53 - Pokkle had 2, Killua had 2, I had 2, Kacchan had 2, #301 - Gittarackur had 2, #191 - Bodoro had 2, #294 - Hanzo had 4... All in all, that totals to 20, and with 27 examinees, that only leaves 7. That isn't enough for them all to pass even if Leorio and Kurapika obtained their target's tags...'_

My worries, however, were for nothing, as arriving fashionably late were the three. It was like a running trend for them to arrive last second.

' _Wait but... how would he have passed? There wouldn't be enough tags for them all... Unless if he really did get Hisoka's tag?'_

Answering my thoughts, Gon held out two tags, and although I couldn't see the number from the distance, he must've had Hisoka's tag as well, as he only held two up.

The six of us, as well as 5 others, had passed the penultimate phase of the Hunter exam.

* * *

Note*: That trap is a bow trap. I was searching up different traps I could use and then I found this one and knew this was the one lol.

* * *

 **I'm not proud of those fight scenes... As you can see battles aren't my forte, which is a bit strange since I mainly watch shounen anime lol**

 **I actually thought what if a hunter (as in someone who hunts animals and stuff) took the hunter exam, which isn't really a groundbreaking question but well the words are the same. So I wanted a long range weapon and thought a bow and arrow are well known , and realised Pokkle already uses a bow and arrow... But then I disregarded that since I had already done research on hunting animals (which is also another similarity with Pokkle, as he hunts animals). If you want more info on #211, her name is Mitsume, and she's 17. Her appearance is my profile pic (light brown hair in a ponytail, green eyes, purple shirt...)**

 **Also, I'm sorry but updates are going to come really slow since the holidays are over (they will become more frequent the next holiday). I could either be posting a new chapter weekly or none at all until the next holiday so please bear with me! If a year passes and I still haven't posted the next chapter, chances are I'm either dead or stuck on a deserted island with no means of escape, it does not mean this is discontinued! I will never discontinue this (I actually enjoy writing it myself lol) (ﾟAﾟ;)**

 **Thanks for all the likes and favourites! Thanks for all the reviews! :D**

 **Replies to reviews:**

Rayeth99: Ya, I'll try... but then the amount of time this chapter took...( please dont be upset or anything ^_^)

Pickle hater: Thanks! :)

D3lph0xL0v3r : Thanks for all the reviews! ^U^


	8. Will x of x fire

**_Disclaimer:_** **I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **ALSO IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG ^~^ FORGIVE ME**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

The eleven of us had gathered onto the airship (in different locations), transporting us to the final phase, when an unexpected announcement was made.

"I have an announcement for all remaining applicants. The chairman wishes to interview the remaining applicants. When your number is called, please go to the first reception room on the second floor. Then we will start with #44, Hisoka-sama."

" _An interview? Is this the final phase? No that's not likely... But then what is the purpose of this interview? Is it a secret phase? What order are they doing it in? If we fail the interview does it mean we can't take the final phase? Oh no they wouldn't do that would they?"  
_ "Shut the fuck up Deku."

Although he did it in a rude manner, I had to thank Kacchan for preventing me from overthinking. An interview was unexpected, and thus I was unprepared.

Before I could discern a specific order of interviews, it was my turn.

"#392, Izuku-sama please."

I anxiously paced up to the second floor, and attempted to keep in my nerves.

"Come, sit down." The chairman invited me over.

' _The chairman is talking to me directly? I can't believe this... No! Stop! Keep yourself together!'_ I battled inside my mind, trying not to show my skittish nature.

"I'll just be asking a phew questions to satisfy my curiosity." The chairman's laid-back attitude was a stark contrast to my tense self.  
"O-o-okay!" I blurted out. I could feel my face burning hotter every passing second.  
"First, why do you want to be a hunter?"  
"I-I want to h-help p-p-people! S-sir!" I managed to muster out a broken answer through my stutters. I was royally failing at staying relaxed.  
"I see." Giving no mind to my stutters, he seamlessly moved onto the next question. "Which of the other 10 applicants are you keeping an eye on?"  
"U-umm... W-well..." I had not thought about a question like this. The first question was to be expected, and I knew my answer, however I had not thought about this. "I-I guess... #44? B-but also #99 and #405, i-in good w-ways."  
"Hmm... Well here's the last question - Which of the other 10 applicants would you least like to fight?"  
"That w-would be #391, #405, #99, #404 and #403... I th-think."  
"You can go now."  
"Th-thank y-you!"

/

Bakugo POV

"#391, Katsuki-sama next,"

' _It's about fucking time. Let's see what this interview is all about.'_

"Have a seat _._ " The casual attitude the chairman held pissed me off, so however unwise this may be, I decided to challenge him.  
"Actually I'd rather stand," I scoffed.  
"Haha! If you want to then sure! So I have a few questions for you. Why do you want to be a hunter?" The old man casually replied to my retort.  
I was about to snarl aggressively in answer, however I caught myself - in the pre-exam, someone asked the same thing, but it proved important answering to him. I decided to attempt to be more civil at the matter.  
"Because I'm destined to be the greatest hunter! I'll beat you some day old man."  
"Ah, interesting. Well moving on, who out of the other 10 are you keeping your eye on?"  
"#99. And #392."  
"Last question, who would you least like to fight?"  
"#392."  
"Your'e excused."

/

Izuku POV

"Welcome gentleman. Did you get plenty of rest? This hotel is owned by the hunter committee. The place is all yours until the battles have concluded. For the final phase, we will be holding a one-on-one tournament."

' _I guess that's quite obvious. So far we haven't directly had to fight against other applicants, despite the penultimate being combat focused, one could've passed using stealth or negotiating. Who will I fight?'_

Right on cue, a cloaked board was rolled in and uncovered to reveal the fights.

' _Wait... does that mean only one person passes? And what's up with that... the amount of fights people get aren't equal... I guess that's the chairman...'_

"You only need one win to pass. The winners are removed from the competition, whilst the losers move up the bracket. In other words, the person who finished at the top will not pass."

Afterwards, he removed the cover over our names, and unveiled the applicants we would be facing, and potentially face.

Quickly counting the brackets in my head, I discovered me and Kacchan had the same number of chances - 4. Gon had 6, Killua had 3, Kurapika had 4, and Leorio had 2. My immediate opponent was Bodoro, the old martial artist, and Kacchan's was the victor of the fight between Pokkle and Gon or Hanzo. Worryingly, If I lost my next opponent would be Kurapika or Hisoka. If Kacchan lost, he would have to fight Killua. In other words, it would be best if we both won our first fights.

"Impressive isn't it? After all everyone has at least two chances to win."

He was correct, the lowest brackets someone had was 2 (Leorio and Gittarackur) and the most was 6 (Hanzo and gon)

"Why didn't you use a balanced bracket?" The discontent in those with fewer chances showed in their faces. Bodoro out spoke his concern  
"This bracket was based on your performances throughout the entire exam. Those who performed better received more chances."

' _Wait... does that mean they thought I was... e-equal to K-kacchan? And better than K-Killua? No that can't be true, I know Killua was above both our levels..."_

"That doesn't sound right. Can you explain how you scored our performances?" Killua said, attempting to hide his disdain.

I could see his discontent etched in his face. Killua was thinking the same thing as me: why was he ranked lower than me?  
His eyes stared into the chairman's, longing for an explanation.

"NO!" Out of nowhere, the chairman dropped his calm demeanour and shrieked at the question, violently shaking his head.  
Killua was clearly frustrated at this senseless outrage.

He chuckled, immediately switching back to his usual self. " Your scores are classified information, so I can't tell you everything. But I can tell you the method. First we consider 3 major criteria: physical strength, mental strength, and overall impression. For physical strength we use an aggregate of agility, flexibility, endurance and perception. For mental strength, an aggregate of resilience, adaptability, judgement and creativity. However this is only used as a reference, as you all have advanced to the final phase. However we are most concerned with your overall impression. This refers to any intangible factors not previously mentioned. You could consider this an evaluation of your potential as a hunter."

' _So if overall impression is the most important, it makes sense why me and Kacchan would be equal, however... Do I really have the same potential as him? Or did they give me 4 chances just because the system demanded a path as such and I was the most suitable... Either way, 4 as a measure of hunter potential isn't amazing. It's not bad, but it's average. It's in the middle of the highest and lowest, and also the most people have 4 chances. And that means I'm average. That just means we are both average. For hunters anyway...'_

Cutting off my gradually worsening train of thought, the chairman continued with his explanation. "The battle rules are quite simple. Weapons are allowed. No cheating. If your opponent admits defeat, you win. However! If you kill your opponent, you will be immediately disqualified. All the remaining applicants will pass, and the exam will end. Are we clear?"

After noticing the uneasy nods everyone gave, I plucked up the courage to ask a question.

"Y-you said that you w-win if your opponent s-surrenders, and if you k-kill them, you're disqualified. B-b-but what if you kn-knock them u-unconscious?" It was really quite nerve-wracking to be stuttering in front of some strong applicants I was about to fight, however this only made my usual habit worse.  
"You can only win if your opponent surrenders. Knocking unconscious, or TKO doesn't count."

' _With being disqualified after coming this far as a strong deterrent against killing, this'll likely then turn into a battle of will... That's both a relief and a pain, I'm sure everyone will be determined to not give up. I just need to be more determined.'_

"Uh, o-one more. I-if you were to hypothetically kill y-yourself, would this result in your o-opponents win?"  
"Yes, that's correct. The one killing is the one to disqualify. Is that all?"

' _Ok, so you wouldn't be able to use your own life as leverage, although that would be quite short-sighted and foolish. Good to know however. In this case, it is optimal for me to not do anything at all. I need to demonstrate my determination, use it as a deterrent.'_

/

"The first match is Hanzo vs Gon. Step forward! I will serve as the referee. My name is Masta."  
"Yo. It's been a while. You were tailing me during the fourth phase." The ninja Hanzo spoke back to Masta's surprise, unveiling something I should've known.  
"You knew?"  
"Naturally. I'm assuming each applicant was assigned an examiner for the fourth phase. Well I'm sure everyone else noticed."

' _In hindsight it was obvious. How would they judge us otherwise for the ranking. The first 3 phases wouldn't have given sufficient information. Kacchan doesn't seem startled by this at all... He's definitely hiding something...'_

"Then, it's time."

Gon readied his stance.

"Begin!"

At once a green flash whizzed around the room, shortly followed by a black blur of a ninja.

In an instant Hanzo sent a chop straight to Gon's neck.

' _Fast! So fast I can barely keep track with my eyes. If I want to become a strong hunter I need to be faster than that.'_

And just like that, in less than a second, Gon had fallen to the floor in a different place than when he started. It wasn't that he was slow, it was that Hanzo was faster.

Of course however, to knock Gon unconscious wasn't what Hanzo wanted, so he helped him up.

' _I see, it's like a taster, a deterrent.'_

Despite the giant gap in their power, and the obvious obstacle, Gon didn't surrender. A will of fire.

The same series of events followed, each wound escalating in severity, but Gon was not discouraged. A will of fire.

Tensions were high, blood had been shed, and yet Gon did not yield. A will of fire.

I could feel my insides turning over, I hated simply watching my friend beaten senseless, but I knew if were in his position I would not surrender.

 _'From a logical standpoint,_ e _ven though as a friend, I truly want him to surrender, to end this slaughter, I wouldn't surrender if I were Gon. In a way, the severity increasing could act as both a discouragement and incentive, as you would know next time it'll be worse, however you also think you have come this far, why not keep going. There's only so far one can go in wounding someone before you kill them.'_

"I'm going to break your arm. Give up"  
"NEVER!"

At this point there was almost no turning back. If Gon were to give up now, he would be severely harmed for his next fight, and likely lose. Hanzo however wanted this futile cat and mouse game to end.

*crack*

It was excruciating to watch, so I squinted my eyes. Kurapika, Leorio and I were visibly intensely aggravated from this fight.

Hanzo went into a speech, one I didn't listen to as I was too busy restraining myself, however in his distraction, displaying his skills by forming a hand stand on one finger. Gon seized his opportunity and struck him on the arm he was standing on. However, short after he collapsed from the strain he must've been facing.

"My head's cleared a bit after all that pain and that long explanation. This isn't a battle to see who is stronger. It's to see who's willing to surrender first."

At once Gon dispelled the tension in the room with a few words and actions.

"I let you kick me on purpose. You don't understand. This isn't a warning. This is an ultimatum."  
From beneath his clothing, he removed a blade, and reverted the atmosphere back to how it was a few minutes ago in the blink of an eye.  
"I'll cut off your legs so that they can't be reattached. A permanent injury should help wake you up. But first I ask of you to surrender." He was clearly frustrated. Behind his sombre attitude I could see the end of his patience. That being said however, it was still unwise to not surrender at this stage.  
"I refuse! I don't want my legs cut off, but I don't want to surrender. So let's find a different way to fight!"

Although Gon was kind and carefree, he was also selfish. To demand a different way to fight after being brutally slaughtered? To show confidence and be recalcitrant after such a show was unheard of (well to me at least)? Was it foolishness? Was it his strong will? Was it selfishness?

This had struck Hanzo's last nerve.

"Hey... Do you understand your own situation?" The tensity in the atmosphere had once again been dispelled by Gon. Chuckles resounded through the room.  
"I'm seriously going to cut off your legs!" The edge in his voice had disappeared and he now simply sounded comedic. Just like that, with a few words, Gon managed to completely flip the situation, taking control.  
"I still will not surrender. Besides, if you do that I'll bleed to death. Let's think of another way."

His words were not simply an attempt at appearing fiercer. Gon was genuine in his demand, as when Hanzo shoved his blade directly at Gon's forehead, he did not flinch.

"You really don't understand. If I kill you, you don't get another chance, but I need only try again next year." His attempt at reverting the atmosphere was futile. Although Gon had every reason to surrender and Hanzo had all the evidence to win, Gon was tenacious.

His prideful glare at Hanzo was relentless, determined. "I'm going to find my dad. I'm going to become a hunter and find my dad. So I won't surrender!"

I don't think I even saw him blink.

Hanzo, defeated, retracted his blade.

"I can't accept that. That's not fair! We have to think of a fair way to settle this fight!" Utterly foolish. Ridiculous. That was the only way to describe those words uttered from the mouth of Gon.

In a rage, Hanzo threw a punch and knocked out Gon. With that, the opening match conceded.

* * *

 **Sorry about the dull exposition on the fighting order. It's quite annoying fanfic doesn't allow images (unless if I'm just being stupid and it is possible). Hope the explanation was clear enough. Also sorry again that this chapter was quite... empty I guess?... It's necessary to the plot but it felt like filler to me... maybe I should've skipped the fights already shown... Actually then in that case:**

 **Question: Was that last part with Gon vs Hanzo boring? I mean it basically was a written version of the scene, I guess with some of Izuku's thoughts but that was quite minimal. Should I just skip all the fights that would be the same as in the manga/anime (I'm following the 2011 anime directly btw lol) and go right to Izuku and Katsuki's fights?**

 **I'M SO SORRYYY (again) THAT TOOK SO LONG! Honestly, school gives too much homework. The combined workload from school, and also the fear of butchering the final phase kinda kept me procrastinating from writing it ^~^ sorry... Thanks for sticking with me! Also prepare for more slow updates...**

 **Thanks for all the follows and favourites! And thanks for all the reviews!**

 **Replies to reviews:**

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	9. Worthy x to be x a hunter

**_Disclaimer:_** **I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **I asked whether I should write about the battles that already happen in canon, and usually I have a clear idea of what im going to write before I start, but this chapter threw me for a loop. So I kind of am skipping the fights that are the same as in canon. (Sorry D3lph0xL0v3r I know you said you wanted the fights with Izuku's thoughts but well... just read and you'll understand).**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

Izuku POV

"The second match Is Izuku vs Bodoro."

Not too long after the end of the first match, it was time for the second. And the second was mine.

" _Dammit dammit dammit! Out of all the applicants I'd say I know the least about Bodoro, and if I don't win this match, I'll have to fight either Hisoka or Kurapika! No. It's ok. This isn't a normal match, you don't even have to harm him, just make him give up... What would be the optimal way to make someone surrender? I refuse to use violence. Possibly if Bodoro is complying, we could simply agree to play a game of some sort and decide the loser would give up. However the loser wouldn't just admit their defeat, and that way I'd need to choose a game I'm good at... Maybe I can use words? What words would convince someone to drop the thing they've been striving to reach for and almost accomplished... Maybe I can keep on the defensive and tire him into giving up?"_

I was brought to my senses by a harsh nudge from Kacchan. Every pair of eyes in the room were glaring at me, and I realised once again I had zoned out when it was my turn to fight. Beads of sweat glistened as they rolled down my skin. I was not off to a good start.

"S-sorry!" I yelped and received many exasperated sighs in return. Bodoro looked grim... like I had already annoyed him.

I cautiously stepped forward and readied my stance.

"Begin!"

I brought my arms up to block an expected attack. I wanted him to make the first move, keep me on the defensive. I wasn't going to use violence when it was unnecessary.  
However, my opponent simply stood there, disheartened. After a few seconds of empty silence, he made a move. Away from me.

' _Is it a facade so I drop my guard? I won't let that happen again!'_ I did not bring my guard down. I merely watched intently, locking our eyes together.

"I give up."

Silence.

It took me a few seconds to process the words that left his mouth.

"I won't fight a child." And with that he walked off, leaving me standing in the middle of the room, speechless.

' _What. In. The. Why would he give up? '_

I was incredibly dissatisfied in my victory. I was nervous, yes, and was hoping for an easy battle, but I felt I had to prove my worth. After all, every time I spoke I stuttered, it was almost as if my becoming of a hunter was a joke. Every pair of eyes bore into me, incredulous that I could've passed. Each judging pair of eyes assessed me themselves, I could hear their thoughts:  
" _He doesn't deserve to be a hunter! He stutters all the time and has no confidence! I haven't seen him show his worth once. He broke down a wall to pass a phase! Is that even allowed?"_

Each voice echoed in my mind, not letting me hear anything else, but one voice particularly resonated within me.

" _He hasn't done anything. Nothing to prove he is of worth. So why did he have 4 chances and I only had 3? Pathetic. If I had his luck I could do anything, and yet to pass the exam, he needed help. Gon helped him in the first phase. In the second phase his mess up resulted in everyone knowing the great stamp's weakness. He was a liability in the 2 other phases, if it weren't for Katsuki he wouldn't have even passed. He wasn't able to get past Hisoka's attack in the fourth phase. Every win was handed to him on a silver platter."_

Each voice became louder and louder, I felt dizzier and dizzier as I attempted to make my way back to the side to remove the attention from me.

' _Wait. Killua wasn't even with me in the third and fourth phase...'_

"Izuku, can you please move. We would like to get on with the next match."

None of them were glaring at me as I imagined they would be. Killlua looked at me with curiosity not disgust. I excused myself and reached the wall to lean on, screwing up my eyes from embarrassment.

"The next match is Kurapika vs Hisoka. Begin!"

I was too disheartened to pay close attention, however I could see blurs of white and red, blue and yellow.

' _Why did Bodoro give up? He said he won't fight a child but... Everyone else sees me as just someone who passed the exam with mere fortune... What if the chairman makes me redo the hunter exam? What if he revokes my licence and and bans me from taking it again? What if... Either way, they're all right. If it weren't for Gon, or Kacchan, I wouldn't have passed. I passed by luck alone here, if I were to attempt again I could end up dead... But... Mother never really wanted me to be a hunter. She was enthusiastic and helped me, encouraged me, but one day... she tried to prevent me... Why? Ever since that day Kacchan changed too. He grew much meaner... Maybe they were right. I'm not cut out to be a hunter, if they don't revoke my licence I'll resign myself. I don't deserve it.'_

"I lose."

Bringing me out of my self-destructing mind was the announce of the next victory. The words left Hisoka's mouth, however he looked more pleased than Kurapika, who seemed mortified.

Hanzo used the same method as with Gon, but Pokkle surrendered quickly.

There was a one sided match between Hisoka and Bodoro, and in the end, Hisoka secured his victory.

After the long initial match, the four leading in succession were less than a tenth of the length than the first.

I was barely paying any attention, however I had to pull myself together. It was time for Kacchan's fight against Pokkle

I halfheartedly observed.

"Begin!"

In an instant, my energised friend lunged forward as his opponent reached for his arrows.

"You're going to have to be quicker than that!" I heard him snarl confidently, as he threw his right fist into his gut. Before he was able to dodge or block, Kacchan landed his hit and Pokkle doubled over. He didn't lay a second to waste, and uppercut him in the chin.

However, using the momentum from the uppercut, Pokkle cartwheeled backwards. He sprung back onto his feet and, crouching, aimed a low kick at the legs.  
Kacchan dive rolled to the side of his opponent and whilst Pokkle was unbalanced on one leg, he latched his elbow around his neck and pushed him on the ground.  
In terms of close-combat and strength, Kacchan definitely overpowered his opponent, and in the space of a few seconds, he had the advantage.  
However, Pokkle was adept enough in speed, and rolled to the side. In an instant, he shot a few metres away and pulled out his bow and arrow.  
Before it could hit, Kacchan jumped up and backwards, but unbalanced. He landed on his wounded leg (the one that had been previously shot).  
The sudden pressure visibly caused a jolt of pain, and he lost his footing.  
The tables had now turned. another arrow came flying right towards his torso, so Kacchan rolled to his left to avoid it, but now Pokkle was standing above him, foot rested on his back, arrow poised at his head.

"Give up or I'll shoot."  
"Make me." Kacchan grabbed and lifted Pokkle's ankle resting on the ground, causing him to fall over.

' _I see, Since Pokkle was fixated on keeping his weight on Kacchan, it was easy enough for Kacchan to lift his ankle up.'_ I thought to myself, forgetting about anything else but the fight. ' _I should've watched the other fights more carefully! I don't have my notebook, but I can remember every good move and write them down later. Dammit why didn't I do that.'_

In these series of events, they both managed to stand up to face each other, back to square 1.

Kacchan began to shoot around the room. I could see every now and then he stopped for a split second, likely from landing on his wounded leg, but this did not faze him.  
Pokkle, unsure of what to do, stood on guard in the centre.  
Suddenly came Kacchan, throwing a hail of punches directly at Pokkle from the rear, thus causing him to fall onto his stomach.

Every single blow I saw them exchange made me more invested in the fight, forgetting about my thoughts. I hadn't seen Kacchan fight for a very long time from an outside perspective. If he hadn't been shot in the previous phase, I'm certain the fight would've ended sooner. He moved fast, every trade of blows was thought out, and eventually, Pokkle found himself in the same situation as with a certain ninja.

"Give up or I'll break you arm!" Kacchan menaced, pinning a squealing Pokkle from his back.  
"I give up! Fine!"

And just like that, Kacchan had worthily passed the hunter exam. Unlike me, who passed by default. However now I could concentrate on the fights, so I paid close attention to them all.

Or rather, none of them.

The next match in line was Leorio vs Bodoro, however Leorio asked to postpone the match so Bodoro could recover from his injuries. from his match with Hisoka. An admirable request, which made me like the man even more.

Next was Pokkle vs Killua, however Killua surrendered before the fight even began, stating that he wasn't interested in fighting Pokkle.

' _Did he think that as he's stronger than Kacchan, and Kacchan defeated Pokkle that he isn't worthy of a fight? If I think about it, in phase 1 he said he had only taken the hunter exam for fun...'_

Bodoro was still healing, so Killua fought consecutively.

"Killua vs Gittarackur. Begin!"

Killua edged towards needle man. Step by step. Until:  
"It's been a while Kil."

' _Do they know each other well? I'm guessing yes since he used an shortened name instead of Killua. But Killua doesn't seem to know this weirdo..._ _'_

One, by, one, he began to remove each pin stuck into his face, as it morphed into something else.  
Every needle removed was smoother skin with smaller features and longer, darker hair.  
After every single one was removed, he looked an utterly different person entirely.

They did know each other. The look of sheer horror on Killua's face at this discovery, it must be someone he knew.

"Brother..."

' _Wait... That's Killua's brother?... they don't look anything alike.'_

Glossy, long, raven hair to fluffy, short silver.  
Dark, black eyes, to light blue.  
Black, dramatically arched eyebrows to smooth, light.

"I heard you cut up mother and Milluki."  
"I guess."  
"Mum was crying."

' _What. In. The. Killua cut up his mother and someone named Milluki? Who's Milluki? Why would he cut up his mother?'_ With that, my perspective had shifted adequately.

"Tears of joy."

' _WHAT. What kind of family is this? Why would she be happy from that?'_ Every word exchanged between them brought up thousands of questions. It was only so many words, but each carried heavy amounts of information.

What caught my eye was the comical collapsing of Leorio at this news. We were both thinking the same thing.

"She was glad to see you grown up, but was worried that you left home so she asked me to check on you. What a coincidence. I didn't know you wanted to be a hunter."  
"I don't really want to be a hunter. I just felt like taking the exam."  
"I see. that's a relief. I have some advice for you. You are not fit to be a hunter. You were born to be a killer. You are a puppet of darkness. You don't want anything and wish for nothing. You can only feel pleasure when people die. That's how dad and I raised you."

' _... You are born to be a killer. A puppet of darkness. That's how dad and I raised you? What the hell? What's happening at home? I'm getting an awful feeling... Wait! How could I be so dumb! Killua, Illumi, Milluki... Zoldyck! He's from a family of assassins!'_

"That's true... I don't desire being a hunter. But I do have something I want." I could see drops of sweat rolling down his face. Tensions were high within his family, or at least with his brother.  
"No there isn't," Illumi answered monotonously.  
"There is!" He was growing more and more enraged. I was also growing more and more enraged. How could someone raise a child in such a way that they are a 'puppet of darkness'?  
"Then tell me." In contrast to the emotion and fury behind his younger brother's words, the older Zoldyck flatly delivered his words.

Quietly, reluctantly, Killua spoke: "I want to be friends with Gon. And Izuku. And Katsuki. I'm sick of killing people. I want to become friends with Gon and live a normal life.  
"That's impossible. You'll never be able to make friends. Your only concern when meeting people is if you should kill them."

I didn't want him to continue. I threw away my shyness and nerves and shouted.

"That's not true! Gon is already your friend! We are already your friend! Don't listen to him! Just win the match!"  
"Is that true? Ah... That's no good. Ok. I'll kill your friends. A killer does not need friends."

He turned toward me and Kacchan, who then stepped in front of me.

"Wait. The match is still in progre-" The referee's words were brought to an abrupt halt.

3 needles were shot with great accuracy right into his face.

We were next.

* * *

 **Thanks so much for all the favourites follows and reviews!**

 **Replies to reviews:**

D3lph0xL0v3r: THANK YOU AGAIN! Yes they really do! I'm really rooting for Izuku too! I know right, Gon would probably be second in pureness and he doesn't even come CLOSE to the precious cinnamon rolls pureness! Poor Izuku, I should give him more credit.  
Wow he would fit in pretty much no problem. I think he also suits the hero universe though, maybe not as something similar but like a contrast lol.


	10. A x mysterious x force

_**Disclaimer:**_ **I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Sorry for the long wait! Thanks for sticking around ^_^**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

Izuku POV

Clear. Footsteps. One. At. A. Time.

Time paused to a halt as the tension grew thick.

 _'He's planning to kill Kacchan! And after that Gon!'_

I abandoned fear in the hope of protecting my friends. (Which just meant I didn't stutter...)

"If you kill anyone, you you'll be disqualified! Don't you need a hunter's licence for something?"  
"Ah! Darn. Mmm... I know! I can kill you three after I become a hunter."

After initially being surprised from the ease of dissuading him, the already crushing atmosphere grew heavier. There seemed to be some sort of... aura... emanating from Illumi, an aura that felt similar to Hisoka's in the forest.

"If I pass the exam, I can kill everyone here and still receive my licence, right?"  
"Yes, according to the rules."

 _'A dark world. The chairman can't allow this... Sure it abides by the rules however in terms of morality... It pains me to think a hunter can sometimes be the same as a villain... I'll become a great hunter and change this!'_

"Hear that Kil? Will you fight me-"  
"You don't have to fight him!" I wasn't going to let Illumi win this battle of psychology.  
"I won't simply give up. Kil, will you beat me in order to save your friends? You can't." With every word, he stepped closer to Killua, and the air grew suffocating.  
"Killua! You do not have to fight him! He is testing you mentally! He is trying to control you! He is trying to manipulate you!"  
"Never fight an enemy you can't beat." Illumi lifted his hand, unfazed by my shouts.

I could see sweat rolling down every inch of Killua's face. He had always been laid back and calm, never breaking a sweat...

"Killua! You don't have to fight him!" It is not a battle of who is stronger. It is a battle of who won't give up. "Think of how many battles have been won with words!" Understand me. "This is another one! Don't give up! Don't fight! Persist!" Understand me.

But wasn't hearing me. His eyes remained fixated on his older brother, full of terror, like eyes of prey that know they are about to be killed.

"Don't move. If you move, I'll assume the fight has started. And if our bodies make contact, I'll also assume the fight has started." Illumi put Killua on a time limit, gliding his hand over to Killua's head steadily.

They were in their own world. I just had to take Killua out of that world.

Leorio was also shouting motivation, but it fell on deaf ears.

I couldn't interfere with the match favouring Killua, lest he would be disqualified.

I decided to put my trust in Killua's reflexes.

I launched the knife I had kept in my belt earlier directly at Killua.  
Obviously he dodged.

"Huh? Is your friend trying to kill you? I guess since your true natu-"  
"KILLUA! THIS IS A BATTLE OF THE MIND!" I had pulled him out of his trance, albeit, in not the most peaceful way, but it was the best thing I could think of in a few seconds.

"It's your life not his!"

Something shifted in Killua's eyes, and the atmosphere.

As Illumi's eyes narrowed, he continued his reaching towards Killua.  
And soon made contact.

Killua's new feeble confidence was wavering, but I made him hold my gaze. As if to say I was there for him.

Something about Illumi's black wells for eyes unsettled me.

"Ah. This isn't good. Why isn't it working?... Well. Kil, I lost. I got my answer. Your friends don't deserve you."

" _Why isn't it working? What does that mean... what is this feeling... There must be something deeper here, I mean, 'it'? That wording suggests that there is something physical he is using to attempt to manipulate him, but manipulation is mental... I guess one could say 'why isn't it working' with it referring to the act of manipulation, but there was something..."_

"Izuku... Thank you."

What brought me to my senses was a bashful Killua, not an angry Kacchan as I was expecting. In fact Kacchan looked to be thinking the same thing as me (but without muttering aloud).

"Ah! N-no there's no need to th-thank me!" With no more obvious threat I reverted to my usual demeanour.

But in the corner of my eye, I noticed a certain sleekly haired man gazing at me intently.

With the intent to kill.

/

There were only 3 applicants left yet to pass: Leorio, Bodoro, and Illumi

"Leorio vs Bodoro. Begin!"

I wanted to pay attention to the match, however I could feel three distinct pressures:  
Although Killua had won his match, there was still something not right. He had become a shell of himself.  
I also didn't feel worthy to be a hunter. I only passed out of default, since Bodoro surrendered immediately.  
And finally, Illumi was glaring at me with his deep, empty black eyes.

But it was Leorio's first match of his 2.  
I observed Leorio and Bodoro's match with a wary eye on the two Zoldycks.

Every other attack I glanced over at Killua, and the more time passed, the further his soul seemed to drift away.

Leorio threw a heavy punch at Bodoro, but Bodoro skilfully parried.

' _I wonder what would've happened if Bodoro didn't immediately surrender... Looking at his display of skill I would likely not win... Perhaps it was good he gave up? No! If I have win by a matter of luck then I don't deserve to be a hunter. I should resign and be the failing competitor so everyone else can pass. They all deserve it far more than me...'_

Once again, my thoughts meandered, preventing me on focusing on what was important.  
Killua.  
I decided to comfort him as I caught him shaking.  
"It's ok. I am here." He didn't hear me.  
I could feel it again, that same... aura. Sure enough, Illumi's gaze had penetrated Killua.  
Once again, they were in their own world.

But then that connection was shattered.

' _Wait... what? Kacchan! What are you doing?'_

Kacchan was stepping closer to Illumi, ignoring the atmosphere around him. Just like in the forest.

'" _There must be something here I can't see. Some strange force? How many times has Kacchan shown this... power? Once in the forest. Maybe in the third phase as well? How else did he know the wall was going to collapse when it seemed to not be affected? As a matter of fact he dealt the final blow, maybe this... force helped him? What is this force though? Did he use it in the second phase? Or maybe in the first phase...? Ah! When we were running through the forest and there was that monster, he somehow knew it was there? Or even before the exam! Maybe he knew Tonpa's drink was spiked! Although I'm assuming the drink was spiked since it made that monster spit us out... Wait...but how these all even would be linked? Am I linking unconnected things? Maybe they were coincidences... or mere instinct? Or maybe he noticed something physical which I didn't..."_

Somehow I managed to catch myself mumbling and thus halted, but to my surprise no one had even noticed.

Everyone had stopped to observe this... unobservable force... between Kacchan and Illumi. Even Bodoro and Leorio had ceased fighting, interested in this non-physical, non-verbal conflict.

All the applicants apart from Hisoka watched bewildered. Hisoka watched with contempt. However all the examiners were surprised, but not confused.

Leorio ceased this opportunity to land a powerful blow on Bodoro, and pinned him to the ground. Bodoro was too concerned however to care.  
They exchanged a few whispers and Bodoro admitted defeat.

"Ahem. Then it is time for the final match: Illumi vs Bodoro."

The chairman's words gathered everyone's attention and the tension in the atmosphere dropped.  
At least the physical yet intangible weight did. The true mental tension did not.

"Illumi vs Bodoro begin!"

But before the referee could finish his final word, Illumi shot a dead accurate needle directly at Bodoro. It pierced his forehead and as his face contorted disorderly, it seemed he was dying, but then from his mouth came the words:

"I surrender."

And just like that, Bodoro failed the exam.

' _What in the... W-wait how? How did that needle not kill Bodoro? Why did Bodoro admit defeat so quickly? Or rather, how did Illumi get him to surrender so quickly? '  
_ "Oi! Bodoro what are you doing? Did we not discuss this? Why would you back out now!" Leorio called, aggravated.  
' _Discuss this?... When they exchanged whispers? What did they discuss?_

I did not mutter aloud, for I was speechless, my mouth agape.

"Good. I believe, as now I have passed the hunter exam, I am allowed to kill whoever I want yes?" Illumi's menacing words interjected my inner thoughts.  
"Yes, indeed, however please wait until after orientation."  
"There is no need to worry, I do not plan on killing anyone yet."

Killua tensed up at his final word. _Yet._

Gon had still not turned up.

 _/_

As we sat, patiently waiting for the final passed applicant to arrive, the doors flew open. He seemed to have been informed of the situation, as his face was determined and vexed. Every applicant turned their head towards Gon, except for Killua, who lowered his head.

He strode towards the 5 of us on one row.

"Thank you Izuku!"  
"A-ah! It's nothing!" I could only sheepishly reply. For it was true, I did nothing, Killua was the one who resisted after my physical intervention.

Suddenly his cheerful demeanour transformed into a serious one, arriving next to his target, Illumi.

"Apologise to Killua!"  
"Apologise? For what?" To Gon's passionate demand, Illumi replied nonchalantly.  
"You don't deserve to be his brother."  
"Must I earn the right to be his brother?"

Gon grabbed Illumi's forearm and violently flung him over his head, however he landed gracefully on his feet.

"He doesn't need to earn the right to be my friend!"

His grip tightened. I felt as I should intervene, but the quivering boy who sat beside me changed my thoughts. Previously he seemed invincible, powerful, unstoppable, but now he was as vulnerable as a normal 12 year old boy.

"If you've been forcing Killua to kill all this time, against his will, I'll make you pay!"  
"Make me pay? What exactly will you do?"  
"I won't do anything. Only make sure that you never see him again!"

Mirroring his motion towards Killua in their match, he lifted his free arm to Gon's forehead. Wisely, Gon jumped back to what I presumed was a safe distance at this near attack.

I could only imagine what Killua felt at this heated discussion, if you could call it that. I decided to finally interject and change the subject.

"W-wait! The one who failed this exam was Bodoro. He gave up without either of us putting up a fight. I believe if he did not do that, I would've been the failing applicant, so I would like to resign from my hunter status and give the pass to him, so I may take the exam again."  
"There was some other funny business, like when you fought Hisoka. What did he say to you? He whispered something into your ear before conceding. That's pretty strange. I understand surrendering after your opponent whispers something to you, as with Hanzo and me, or Bodoro and Hisoka. But in your case the opposite happened. I had to wonder if you struck some sort of bargain. Your own victory was quite odd indeed. If you have nothing to hide, tell us what he said." Following my idea, Pokkle directed a questioning comment at Kurapika.

None of them seemed to care that I had won from mere luck.

"I have no obligation to. If you believe my victory was odd, then, as Izuku was stating, a victory by default would be equally odd," answered Kurapika.  
"What? I believe you owe it to us. Oh, and Leorio, your victory was also strange. You whispered something to Bodoro, but he did not surrender, he whispered back. That's clearly a bargain! You both owe to tell us what was said."  
"If you wanna know then I'll tell you! I asked why he gave up in his match against Izuku, he told me he doesn't like to fight children! So I said one of us should surrender before either of us gets hurt so we can take down Illumi. After all he said he was going to kill people!"  
"Come on... I wanna get this lecture over with so I can leave." Hanzo was exasperated at this conflict, and although my words were the cause of the rift, I agreed.

"Ahem... Is everyone finished? You may complain about the results all you like, but we will not change our minds. Bodoro has failed, and the rest of you have passed the exam."

' _But I... I don't deserve this! Had Bodoro not given up in our match, I would've been the one to fail! I don't deserve this... Being a hunter has always been my dream but... not like this...'_

"Ok, I shall continue the orientation." And with that, Beans delivered his inspiring speech about being a hunter. Almost taking my mind off my immense guilt. Almost. Yet it was strange to hear all the privileges hunters had after passing the test. Although it wasn't quite easy, it was underwhelming for me to pass on my first try.  
Like I didn't deserve it...  
I knew the statistics - out of the over 400 applicants that took the exam, only 10 passed, and that's not even including those who couldn't make it to the exam site, but they didn't register.

/

Killua's previous embarrassment was short-lived and had disappeared.  
As every applicant (just Hanzo and Pokkle really) left saying their goodbyes to the 6 of us, Gon requested Pokkle to search up Ging Freecss on his device.

' _Ging freecss? Why would he... WAIT- NO WAY?!'_

"Gon! Is Ging Freecss your d-dad?"  
"Yep!"  
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod Ging, the boar member of the Zodiacs, double-star ruins hunter is your dad?! That's so cool! I met a world famous assassin AND the son of one of the ZODIACS!" I couldn't prevent from my inner fanboy coming out. Fortunately Satotz, the first phase examiner interrupted me in request to talk to Gon alone.

/

After Gon returned to us, we discussed our plans.

"I'm going to return Hisoka's tag after punching him in the face. Until then I wont use my hunter license or return to whale Island."  
"Whale island?"  
"Oh yeah, You two weren't with us in the 3rd phase. I live in Whale Island, Leorio wants to be a doctor, Kurapika is from the Kurta clan. Killua's an assassin but you already knew that."

' _Kurta? The scarlet eyes clan! But they were all killed by the Phantom troupe! Is Kurapika the sole survivor? I can't believe I met a member of the Kurta clan, a member of the Zolydkc family and a son of one of the Zodiacs! How am I so lucky?'_

"Kurapika, you're a Kurta? But they were massacred by the Phantom troupe!"

Oops.

"A-ah! Sorry... I shouldn't have been so insensitive..."  
"Izuku, how come you know so much stuff about us? It's almost creepy..." Killua managed to save the awkward silence I had created.  
"Ah... well you all have famous families... r-right... Anyway! Gon, do you know where Hisoka is?"  
In response to Gon's silence, Kurapika replied instead. "I know where he is, Gon. He told me."  
"So that's what he said..." I muttered.  
"No, this was after orientation," Kurapika countered.  
"But it's still related."  
"I suppose so."  
"What did Hisoka say to you that time?" Gon asked.  
"He told me 'I have some information for you regarding the spider.' I do not recall mentioning the Phantom Troupe to Hisoka, so he either overheard our conversation in the first stage, or heard it from another. I was interested in his information. He said he would await me in Yorknew city, September 1st." There was a relentless glow in Kurapika's eyes.  
"That's where the worlds largest auction is. September 1st to 10th, right?"  
"Correct. Izuku, you really know a lot about hunters huh. The auction attracts all manners of nasty folk who come to satisfy their greed."  
"Of course the Phantom Troupe would be there."  
"Yes, they are a group of bandits after all, they won't let this opportunity escape. Then, I shall depart. I'll search for a patron to employ me as a hunter, I need money for the auction."  
"Then, I'll be leaving too, I can now pay for the ridiculous medical school fees so I can become a doctor," said Leorio.  
"Me too, I think I'm gonna go home because I need to find out something..." I said determinedly.  
"And I'm going with Deku." After being silent almost all of our conversation, Kacchan spoke up. He was usually so loud...  
"Ok, until we meet again, September 1st, Yorknew city." We all announced together and parted ways.

"Deku," Kacchan called once we were alone. He turned to look at me. "You didn't pass the Hunter exam from sheer luck."  
I was surprised to hear this coming from him. "B-but I-"  
"No, stop. You helped me in Zevil Island. We worked together on the tower. You got that egg by yourself, and you were the one who remembered the weakness of the Great Stamp in phase 2. You didn't pass from a fluke."  
"But the last phase-"  
"Pokkle also passed by default. I'm not gonna say this again, so listen. You didn't pass by sheer luck."  
"I-" I cut myself off. He was right. My doubts weren't entirely dispelled, but having them weakened by one of the people I looked up to the most certainly helped.  
"C'mon, nerd, let's go."

Together, Kacchan and I were going back home, and I had to ask my mother something.

* * *

 **That's an entire (mini) arc skipped! Woah. Now things are beginning to change. Not much so far though...**

 **Thanks for all the likes, favourites and reviews!**

 **Replies to reviews:**

Guest: Thank you! :) Thanks for reading and reviewing as well.

D3lph0xL0v3r: THANK YOU AGAIN! I know right! I guess the hunter x hunter universe is actually quite similar to our own in that way... Yup, Bakugo must have explosions otherwise it wouldn't really be him. I'm excited to add nen into the story, especially since it makes combat much more interesting. And I stuck to my deadline!

AutumnNightStars: That's fine! Thanks for reviewing now! Thanks, I was a bit unsure if I made it too dramatic lol.

Nate Silver: Yup! Things aren't (weren't I guess now lol) looking too great for him.


	11. Finally x answers

_**Disclaimer:**_ **I do not own Hunter x hunter or my hero academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

"Izuku! Katsuki!"

No less than a second after we disembarked the airship to Musutafu, I could see my a green haired plump woman next to a blonde haired taller woman waiting by the station - we had informed our mothers roughly what time we would be arriving.

"We passed," Kacchan said, smugly holding out his Hunter's licence.  
I presented mine too, but more sheepishly. It wasn't worry of it being stolen - there weren't many people around, and Musutafu was a relatively peaceful region - even after Kacchan's reassurance, I couldn't help but feeling slightly ashamed.

What was disbelief on both their faces quickly morphed into pride. As my mother pulled me into an embrace, I realised I hadn't cried for a while, so it felt refreshing to feel tears flowing down my face at our reunion. Tears welled from both our eyes, whilst the Bakugos also had a cheerful, yet less emotional reunion.

I wasn't distracted though. It was time to ask my mother the burning question etched in my mind. But I waited to arrive home first.

/

We both sat down in the living room, after parting with the Bakugos. After she asked a few questions about how the exam was, I decided to shoot.

"Mother. After passing the hunter exam, I've been left with many questions and no answers. Do you remember when me and Kacchan were young, and we wished to be hunters like my dad, and you were both encouraging, yet one day that all changed. Why? Why did you not want me to be a hunter?"  
The previously light mood in the room dissipated, to be replaced with unease. I could see horror in her face, but I persisted with my stare.  
"Izuku... I-I..."  
"Mother, I have already passed the exam! Please tell me."  
"I...I think it'd be best if Katsuki was here too."

Although it meant I had to wait, this would work in my favour. I also had to ask Kacchan something.

Once my mother called him and he arrived, I began.

"Mother, Kacchan. Why did your attitudes towards me change? One day you wanted me to be a hunter, yet the next day you were both so opposed it was as if you never wanted me to in the first place. Why?"  
The two of them exchanged looks and my mother opened her mouth to speak first.  
"Before your father left, he taught both me and Mitsuki this... technique called 'nen' for self-defence. He told us that in case we ever get into any trouble, we could use this to defend ourselves. Then you both started to show interests in becoming hunters. We both decided it would best for you too to also learn the basics of nen to help during the exam but... We made a mistake. It was too soon. I would imagine you don't remember being taught nen, as after... something... happened we agreed to make you think nen was never something that existed... I hate how malleable the mind of a child is, you forgot about nen in just a few months..." She nodded over to Kacchan to continue.

"Deku... Don't expect me to ever say this again. I shouldn't have to say it but... here. I'm fucking sorry ok." My mum shot him a dissatisfied glance, but he merely glossed over it. "I started to treat you badly because I became arrogant. I was the only kid in the neighbourhood who knew nen! Of course I wanted to brag about it, but I couldn't... Being a 6 year old kid, that really frustrated me."

I hadn't realised how much Kacchan had changed from the hunter exam. A few months ago he never would've admitted his arrogance.

"What does 'nen' do?"  
Kacchan continued. "It's your own sort of aura. Every living being emits some, but only those who hone the skill and train can actually manipulate allows you to sense others as long as they are not in a state of zetsu - it halts the flow of nen from the body so you can't be sensed."  
"S-so that was why you knew where people were! That swamp monster, the people monitoring us in the forest..."  
"Uh yeah..."  
"Well, anyway," My mother took over, "There are four principles of nen. Zetsu is one of them, and another is hatsu. Hatsu is like a personal expression of nen. There are 6 different categories hatsu generally fits into - manipulator, emitter, enhancer, transmuter, conjurer and specialist. Specialist, as it is in the name, special, because it is unique to the specific person, and cannot be grouped into the other 5 categories. After you both trained we decided it was time for you two to discover your hatsus with the water divination test."  
"I'm a transmuter. I didn't use my hatsu yet however, as I haven't perfected a special hatsu, and besides I wouldn't want to stand out. You... were a specialist." He spoke his final sentence with a grimace.  
"Was?"  
"In your water divination, the leaf began to grow, and became a healthier green. Later, when I..." He threw a worried look towards my mother before continuing, "I was injured and you used your hatsu on instinct to heal me. I remember there was a man who witnessed this and then asked you questions about it... I think he also showed you a book?... but then the next time when you were excited to show it, you couldn't use it..." He began to trail off as guilt caught hold of him.  
"I asked one of Hisashi's friends - another hunter, and he said it was likely your nen ability was stolen," My mother said grimly.

It was like a well of memories and information had been unlocked. A waterfall of information came cascading into my brain after being blocked.

"S-so when, you and Illumi were... doing that, it was n-nen? And same with Hisoka too?"  
Kacchan replied with a firm but downcast nod.

' _Do Gon and Killua know what nen is? Can they use it? Would it be possible for me to get my nen ability back?_

Then a realisation occurred to me.

"Wait. Was my ability to use nen stolen, or was my special nen ability stolen?" Something began to glint in my eyes. I could feel my hopelessness draining away in belief of an idea.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I think it was called hatsu? What if only my hatsu was stolen, and not nen itself? You said nen is 'your own sort of aura' and 'every living being emits some'. Doesn't that mean no one can steal nen as a whole, but simply the hatsu people develop? There are 4 principles of nen you said. Hatsu is only one! I can still use the other 3... right?" My words were an entangle of both desperation and hope, clinging onto the belief that I could use this 'nen' that other strong hunters were using.  
They both glanced at each other in silence, looking with both excitement yet guilt too.  
"I don't think I'm the right person to answer that... But, I know someone who might be. Katsuki, Izuku, would you like to have a nen teacher? One more skilled than me? Then again, he isn't really one to accept students, but I'll try!"

What stared off as a semi confrontation laced with despair, had transformed into new hope.

/

"For the last time, I'm not going to take some students!"

My mother had been talking to a grown man on the phone for roughly ten minutes now, and the shouts on the other end were loud enough to be heard without speaker.

"B-but they are both hunters..."  
"I said already! How many times must you hear. I. Will. Not. Take. Students!"  
"H-how about you give them a task to do to prove their worthiness?" She was trembling, words stumbling from her mouth. This friend must've been quite intimidating. Then again, my mother and I were both quite nervous people. But then her slight worry melted away into confidence and enthusiasm. I couldn't hear what the speaker said on the other end, however, as he had quietened down.  
"Yes! I know they can do that! Come over so you can explain!" Her eyes were twinkling.

* * *

 **Sorry this chapter was quite short... and sorry this chapter was basically a conversation of exposition haha. That just felt like the right place to end it, and I don't have very strict minimum or maximum word counts. But it's getting to the good parts I promise! You can expect the next chapter out relatively soon.  
Can you guess who the hunter friend of Hisashi Midoriya is? (Hint, it's a character from BnHA).  
And we have reached some original story! I hope it all makes sense and I'm not bending rules too much haha.**

 **Thanks for all the likes, favourites and reviews!**

 **Replies to reviews:**

D3lph0xL0v3r: Thank you again! Right that's true, but what about Komugi? Komugi is really friendly and polite, and when she was attacked by a hawk she didn't call for help because it would inconvenience others. You are right though, the HXH universe is really a selfish place, like an exaggerated form of our own world's selfishness.  
Yes! I think a good ending to this fic would be Izuku finally changing the hunter system to be more heroic, right? Also, I don't think Bakugo would abuse his power, I mean when he was captured by Shigaraki and asked to join the villains, he didn't pull a sasuke. He may have a villainous attitude but he's certainly a hero. This next arc I have planned should shed some more light on Izuku and Bakugo's past ^_^

megakdre100: Yes, I do. I have something planned for the plot (which makes sense with all the rules of nen) ^_^

Blaze2990: Thank you! I'll try to, especially since I currently have no excuse as it's the holidays.


	12. Rekindling x and x training

_**Disclaimer:**_ **I do not own Hunter x Hunter or My Hero Academia. Those rights go to the legends Togashi and Horikoshi.**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

 _Thud thud thud._ After a deserved night's rest, early morning, three loud knocks resounded through the house. It was likely this hunter friend from last night mother invited (but then realised Kacchan and I were tired so postponed the visit to tomorrow). Hurriedly, my mother rushed to the door and swung it open without even checking it really was who she thought it was.

"Shota! You came! Trust me, Izuku and Katsuki are fast learners, they'll be great students.  
"Prove it to me first." I heard a gruff voice and I went to investigate.

Standing in the door way was a tall, pale man who looked as if he hadn't slept in days. He wore full black, and had long, unkempt black hair that fell over his face. His black eyes were still visible through his bangs, and black stubble was growing on his chin.

"Izuku, Katsuki, this is Shota Aizawa! Shota, this is Izuku Midoriya. Katsuki Bakugo should be coming soon." My mother was highly pleased with herself for persuading Aizawa to arrive here. We waited for Kacchan's arrival.

"Alright. Midoriya, Bakugo, Inko here told me you would show me your abilities." he stated with an air of authority, sly grin spreading across his face.

I could tell his standards were high. And so both me and Kacchan faced multiple tests, his nen also being assessed.

After completing a few basic tests, Aizawa-sensei instructed us to spar under his supervision.

He lunged immediately for a right punch, one of his favourites.  
Expecting it, I grabbed his arm and swung him over my shoulder, slamming him onto the ground. However he managed to quickly bounce back up, almost like no damage had been dealt. ' _Nen?'_ But that was all I could think before he sent another kick flying towards my waist.  
The hunter exam had vastly improved my reflexes so I managed to block in time with my right arm. He left his right side open, so I grabbed his right wrist with my left hand and aimed a kick at his waist, preventing him from blocking. Yet it was not him, but I felt the pain in my leg.  
He landed on his feet and jabbed my gut with his free right arm. It hurt much more than usual, and I was thrown back.  
Ignoring the pain, I hopped back up and threw a half-hearted punch to the approaching blonde. He easily clutched my wrist and pushed my shoulder down, pinning me on my front.

"I win."

/

Fortunately, we both passed his tests, and so our training regimen began. We had 7 months left before our planned meeting with Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio. Kacchan was developing his hatsu, and I was relearning nen. As I had previously known it, after only 2 weeks of meditation, I had rekindled my ability. It was also much easier to learn different aspects of nen, as it was already ingrained into my subconscious. He also taught ways to practice the different branches of hatsu. I may have mentally forgot about nen, but the physical memory was still there after all those years. Turned out I could still use nen (Kacchan and mother both looked very guilty at the fact they stopped my association with it completely after the incident). If I could develop a new hatsu, it would be extremely useful, so I decided to ask.

"Aizawa-sensei, since my aura was stolen, is it possible for me to create another hatsu?"  
"I think it is possible, however it likely won't be as powerful as the first. There is also the possibility you won't be able to create a new hatsu at all."  
"S-so... would there be a way to recover my hatsu?"  
"I think perhaps... maybe a nen exorcist might be able to... In fact, I want to try something..." He never went into detail what he wished to attempt, and I never asked.

"Midoriya, Bakugo, it's time to spar again. Bakugo, you may use your hatsu." That frightened me. I had not been able to come up with a new hatsu, however didn't know if this was due to a lack of ideas or simply not being able to. Kacchan said my healing hatsu had been created on instinct, so I was banking on the fact my new hatsu would also come up on instinct.

Once again, he began with a predictable right hook. However I was not sure if it was a feint or not, so I simply rolled to the side to dodge. Now behind him, I threw a kick at his side, my foot infused with 80% ryu, but before my foot could reach its mark, he jumped out of the way. We had both certainly become much faster.

Kacchan then turned around and, sweat - ' _no not sweat, that's nitroglycerine! It's his hatsu,'_ \- dripping from his arm, threw an explosive punch at me. I used ken all over my body, and the fist never touched me, yet I was blown back through the force of the explosion, flames and smoke licking my body.  
' _Come on! Now would be a great time for me to figure out my next hatsu._ ' I urged, but to no avail. Kacchan was going to use his emitting technique, aimed directly at me. I managed to barely jump out of harms way as a shot of explosive nitroglycerine was sent my way. It was a long-ranged attack, but it's weakness was it only affected that in its line of sight and slightly outwards. I was out of range. I threw myself at him and, with nen concentrated in my palms, grabbed his waist, picking him up and launching him at the wall.  
Once he landed, he immediately used his nitroglycerine aura to explode behind him, propelling him forward straight towards me. Prepared, I covered my body with ken, and began dodging side to side in an attempt to confuse him. I also attempted to use emitting techniques to send a ball of nen but it simply disappeared a few metres away. I was not trained enough. Kacchan flew towards me. I managed to graze his arm, but that was enough.  
I was blown back from the explosion once more, and the wind was knocked out of me. Using ken twice in a row was incredibly straining, excluding the impact of an explosion. Before I could react to his next attack, Kacchan was above me and pinned me to the ground.

I heard the same words "I win." They were bitter to my ears, I could feel incompetency welling inside me, but Aizawa-sensei reassured us both.

"You have both passed the secret hunter exam."  
"Secret hunter exam?"  
"Yes, you are required to learn nen before becoming a hunter. You've both improved vastly. Your nen control is excellent. Bakugo, you have developed a good variety of moves using your hatsu. Of course, Midoriya you may not be able to use hatsu, unfortunately, however you have grasped the other principles of nen well. I think the hunter board will understand that you have not yet been able to develop a new hatsu, as it is possible that you cannot anymore. Midoriya, can I speak to you alone?" His eyes narrowed dangerously when addressing me, signalling the thing he wanted to speak about was not great.

I followed him behind some trees as he began to speak.

"First, how are you using ken and ryu! And why were you trying out emitting techniques! What were you thinking?" He hissed as me, grasping my collar as he bent down.  
"I-I..."  
Before I could formulate a response, he sighed and made one for me. "You overworked yourself didn't you. You thought 'I want to catch up to Bakugo' and so you over trained. Idiot! In training, rest is as important as the training itself! You can't overwork your body. Ken and ryu and other advanced techniques were for Bakugo! He's learnt and retained his knowledge of nen for over half his life. Why did you eavesdrop when I told him his exercises! You have 3 months before you said you need to be somewhere right? Rest for a month, then I'm going to take you two somewhere. Don't even think about using nen."  
"I...I'm sorry... th-thank you..." I mumbled, head bowed in shame. I had to disclose that we both had to be at Yorknew at September, but I was too flustered.  
"Moving on. You need to retrieve your hatsu. There is a secret hunter exam after the official one, in which the examinee must learn nen. Of course you have learnt nen, with some room for improvement of course, you need a hatsu ability. Your fight with Bakugo was proof of that. I believe a nen exorcist could do the job and return your hatsu ability, however I do not know any nen exorcists. Nen exorcists are rare. If you wish to recover your stolen hatsu, you'll likely confront the perpetrator before you find a nen exorcist. I think then, it might be possible to persuade them to return your hatsu. If that is even possible for them." He paused to wait for a nod, confirming I was understanding.  
"I know of a troupe, called the Phanto-"  
"Phantom Troupe! Yes I know them!"  
"You do? How did you find this information? I thought it was classified in the hunter website..."  
"My father left his hunter licence at home..."  
"Ah, of course Hisashi did. He would always fret to me that he'd lost it. Do you then know of the leader - Chrollo Lucifer's nen ability?"  
"Hmm... I think it was..." I gasped as realisation dawned on me. ' _Mine and Kurapika's goals align, somewhat._ ' "He can steal hatsu!"  
"Yes. Although it is strange to think the infamous Phantom Troupe leader visited a town such as Musutafu. Chrollo Lucifer is incredibly strong. Do not think for a second you could last in a fight against him. That is why I urge you, no matter what: Avoid. The. Phantom. Troupe. You can simply find a nen exorcist if it turns out he was the thief."

I was truly grateful for Aizawa-sensei. He had given his time and energy into training both me and Kacchan, served as stimuli for both our nen growth, and in Kacchan's hatsu. I, the 6 months I had gotten to know him, he had earned my trust and respect. But this was one of his wishes I could not follow. Kurapika was set out to get revenge on the Phantom Troupe, which of course, I did not approve of, however, his resolve was too large to be discouraged by me. The best I could do was to help him in his mission of revenge to make sure he is safe, and also to make sure the Phantom Troupe are captured, but not killed. This way, I could also possibly confront the leader and recover my hatsu. I didn't want any deaths. Even if they are a villainous group of bandits, they do not have to die.

/

3 weeks passed and, using a combination of our already planned meeting as well as persuasion that I'm fine, I somehow managed to convince Aizawa-sensei and my mother that I had rested well enough, thus both me and Kacchan were ready to go wherever Aizawa-sensei wanted to take us. And so reluctantly, Aizawa-sensei took the two of us on the air blimp to Heavens Arena. _'I wonder what Kurapika, Killua, Gon and Leorio are doing? They must have learnt nen by now, as Aizawa-sensei said it was the secret hunter exam... In that case, I wonder what their hatsus are? And how will I say my hatsu was stolen...'_

Soon we were standing in front of the world's fourth tallest building, 251 stories high. Of course I had heard of and read of Heavens arena, but it never occurred to me I would actually be visiting. Problem was, we had just under a week, and participating in Heavens Arena meant you were there for the long haul. I bit my lip with both guilt and anticipation. If I hadn't over worked myself, we could've had an extra 3 weeks. Nonetheless, the prospect of earning money and training at the same time was motivating.

* * *

 **Ooh parallels to BnHA canon! And Aizawa's scarf thingy now makes sense - he uses nen lol. Also, now Izuku and Katsuki are deviating from canon in terms of character, but it makes sense since they don't live in the same world, right?**

 **By the way, if you want to know what I classify all the BnHA characters as for nen here it is (they are all quirk based and not personality based):  
Inko Midoriya**: Manipulator - can manipulate objects to pull them closer. She never trained much so she can only attract smaller objects with ease, but if she wanted to, she could learn to control larger objects. Wasn't ever a fighter so decided she'd use her nen to make her life easier - thus attracting objects.  
 **Mitsuki Bakugo** : Transmuter - transmutes her nen into moisturiser. Like with Inko, not combat oriented, so wanted to make her life easier.  
 **Shota Aizawa** : Conjurer - conjures a scarf type thing (like in canon) that he can control, and like with Kurapika's chains, force the person into a state of zetsu if it is touching them. He can also hide this scarf with in to make it seem like his eyes are the one "erasing the nen".  
 **Note on Masaru Bakugo:** He knows of nen, but never learnt it, believing that his wife can protect him if needs be, and also believing Musutafu is a peaceful enough area.  
 **Hisashi Midoriya** : Emitter - transmutes his nen into flames and emits it. Unlike in BnHA canon, this means he can emit flames from anywhere in his body, but he has a restriction which only allows him to emit flames from his mouth, and this makes it stronger, thus giving the effect of breathing fire. (Thank you RiIl for the restriction idea!)

 **Thank you for reading! And thanks for all the follows, favourites and reviews!**

 **Replies to reviews:**

bloodyss2god: Hit the nail on the head :)

D3lph0xL0v3r: THANK YOU! Right, that's fair, but I think Bakugo, growing up next to the saint Izuku, Izuku's pure morality could rub off on him slightly, as in, he doesn't want to kill. I personally think myself Bakugo didn't become Sasuke2 merely because of his morality. He had always wanted to be like All might, so he wouldn't have to be kept by rules. I mean rules didn't even seem to apply to him haha, I mean he bullies Izuku! Then again, since there is no obvious All might in the HxH universe, maybe there wont be a role model for him to follow? But also, this universe is different from BnHA. Bakugo I feel is much nicer (at least more obviously to Izuku). It reminds me of Bakugo vs Izuku season 3, when he blamed himself for All might's retirement. He could blame himself for Izuku's nen being stolen - after all Izuku had shown his hatsu ability to heal him so... He is definitely a much more inherently violent person than Izuku. He may end up killing someone, whether its by accident, or by rage, or by necessity (one of Izuku's weaknesses, especially in the HxH universe would be that he's reluctant to kill, and in such a selfish world...)  
Yep! It is Aizawa, as you would've understood by reading this chapter lol. And about Chrollo (who yeah he did steal Izuku's nen, I wasn't about to bring another HxH All for one when there's already one) it will be explained in a later chapter, I have planned out a plot that makes relative sense [I think... ^_^]


	13. First x battle

_**oof. I took a while again... I'm sorryy**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I do not own Hunter x Hunter or My Hero Academia. But you all already knew that.**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

"You'll be paying me back for the trip fare with the money you earn here. Equivalent exchange." Aizawa-sensei announced as we stood waiting in the line full of a variety of people, mostly adult men. It was a reasonable exchange.

Once we were inside, there in the middle were 16 squares for fighting, surrounded by seats for viewers. The three of us sat down, waiting for one of our numbers to be called out.

"#2734, #2998, please go to ring C."  
"Kacchan that's you!"  
"Bakugo! You too Midoriya. Don't use nen yet. This is floor 1 - a testing ground, not only will competition likely be easy, you also don't want to lay all your cards onto the table yet. But make sure you prove your strength. You have one week yes? Floor 200 is when everyone uses nen, but I doubt you'll get there in a week. If you want to progress quickly, take your opponent out in one move."

As Kacchan stepped forward to the ring, I heard disdain and mockery in the crowd. As to be expected - his opponent was a large man resembling a sumo wrestler in weight and he was a kid half his size. But I also heard something else:  
"Another kid? Didn't you hear of the two kids who were here recently and destroyed their competition?"  
' _Two kids?'_

"Begin!" Not a second too soon, Kacchan immediately went in for a right punch without giving his opponent time to react. Predictably, the large man flew out of the ring and it was an immediate victory for Kacchan.  
"See! This kid too! What's up with all these strong children?"  
' _Strong...?'_

Kacchan was given a ticket to the 50th floor and returned to sit next to me, waiting for my turn.  
"Heh. Fucking overweight didn't stand a chance." He scoffed as the next match was rapidly announced.

"#2733, #3014, please go to ring G." I stepped onto the square and saw my opponent, a tall man, but not as large as Kacchan's opposition. I could see him shaking, as I heard him mumble to himself, "D-don't tell me this kid is also a powerhouse... I heard rumours of those 2 children from before, and now there's another 2? H-hopefully he's like a regular kid..."  
' _... I almost feel bad... but I can't be left behind! And we only have a week to reach the 200th floor. Sorry, but you have to prepare for things like this.'_  
I too threw a kick and the man flew out of the ring, granting me my ticket to the 50th floor.

/

As we sat in the waiting room, I eyed the competition. At floor 50, there wasn't a huge difference between the first floor, but I could discern that there were less women, and everyone looked stronger and larger. The two of us certainly stood out, being at most half the age of the rest of the people.

"#2733, Izuku-sama and #1987 Bob-sama, please go to Arena C, floor 256."  
"Oi, deku, meet me up ahead. You better win you nerd."  
"Y-yeah!"

Instead of multiple rings, there was now one larger ring in the middle for the fight. The referee showed a replay of both our fights and then there was a betting system. Of course the man was in favour, but I had more votes than I would expect. In my opponents fight, the muscly man delivered a fair amount of hits, and received a few, but managed to win without so much a scratch. I hoped for the best as I sent a kick towards his waist. One hit and he was down.

/

We both managed to reach the 130th floor within 3 days, but it still felt too slow. " _4 more days! But the problem isn't our matches, it's the amount we are given. There must be a way to speed up the process. Maybe skip a few floors? Could we persua-"  
"_Deku. Shut up. We can't do anything about it anyway."  
It was much easier waiting after the 100th floor anyway with our own private rooms. Aizawa-sensei had now left us alone, though (after we had paid him back for the blimp ride), trusting that we would not use nen until the 200th floor, as he had some jobs to do. We still did not use nen, saving it for the 200th floor and above, but our physical training with Aizawa-sensei had proved useful, as we both proceeded in winning all our matches with one hit. Rumours were floating around:  
"Another pair of monster children..."  
"Do you think they're related to the other two? I mean one of them has the same hair colour..."  
" _Same hair colour?_ Hey Kacchan, go you think the two other kids could've been Gon and Killua?"  
"Duh."  
"Hey! Your Izuku and Katsuki aren't you!" A shorter brown haired boy who I had noticed fighting on the screens came up to us, a man with an untucked shirt walking up behind him.  
"H-huh? Oh y-yeah! I... I've seen you on the screen fighting! You're quite strong," I commented.  
"Ah... I... It took me a while to get to this floor... I'm not near your level. It's strange, because about a month ago there was another pair of kids here who took out their opponents with one hit."  
I shot a look at Kacchan, who seemed to be uncaring. "D-do you know who they were?"  
"Yeah. Gon and Killua!"

I once again glanced at Kacchan, eyes wide, but this time he was making eye contact back mouthing 'I told you so'.

"We weren't expecting there to be any other children here, let alone four others. The four of you took the hunter exam this year. Am I correct?" The man wearing glasses stepped forward, speaking up.  
"Y-yeah. How did you know?" This time, there was shock in Kacchan's face too.  
"I was the teacher for Gon and Killua to make sure they passed the secret hunter exam. I believe the two of you have already passed it, yes?"  
"Yes we have. I-in that case, do you know about the other hunter examinees? Have they passed the secret hunter exam?"  
"I taught nen to Gon and Killua myself, Hanzo and Kurapika have both passed with different teachers, Pokkle is struggling with nen, Leorio has his medical studies and Illumi and Hisoka already knew nen."  
"Ah! Thank you..."  
"Wing. Nice to meet you."  
"Thank you, wing-san!"

/

We had one day left before we had to leave for Yorknew. One day, and we had reached floor 200, the floor we could finally use nen Aizawa-sensei had explained to us beforehand that at floor 200, it was a self-service system and we had 90 days to register for a fight, and we had to win 10 battles to advance. He had also touched on the floor master system, but we only had one day. With one day, it was irrelevant.

We stepped through the corridor, noticing a man, with malicious aura being sent our way. It was weak, however so we were both able to easily walk past.  
" _Is this like what happened with Hisoka during the Hunter exam? It must be - Kacchan said they used nen. So why would there be someone sitting there, like they're waiting for new arrivals-"_ _*Ahem*._ I heard an irritated cough next to me and halted my mumbling.  
"So they can use it huh?" Coming from behind us, I presumed the man from before was muttering to himself. His tone was smug and overflowed with contempt.

"W-would it be possible to register for a fight t-today?"  
"Uh... Well if someone else registers and is willing to, I think you can! You need to fill out this form."  
"Give me one to, I also want to fight today."  
As we both filled out our forms, I felt 2 unfriendly presences behind us.

There was a huge gap between floor 190 and 200. On floor 190, it was mainly large, muscly men, fighting physically with no use of nen. Their appearance was relatively generic of muscular men, however here their looks differed. No more did these two look like strong large men, at least physically. The shorter of the two wore a white mask covering his face, chestnut brown hair pulled back into a tight man bun. The mask had a permanent smug etched into it, and his eyes seemed to be dark empty holes through the plain mask. He wore full green with a jacket and baggy trousers. The second man reminded me of a lion, with his yellow-orange hair and beard, mimicking a mane. Strangely, his blue top hung over his arms, almost as if he didn't have any. ' _That's going to limit movement, maybe he takes it off during battle?'_

"What do you extras want." Kacchan uttered, exasperated.  
"Nothing. We just want to register for a fight." Their (or rather the lion dude's, as the other's face was covered) lips were curled at the edges, and their voice was smug. They were obviously going to fight us, targeting us as we are new, but this proved great for our timing.  
"Great! I can't wait to destroy you. Hey Deku, I'll take shitty-lion, you take faceless."  
"Uh... o-okay..." I timidly responded. I hoped his arrogance wouldn't mess up our fights.

We were all eager to fight, and so at 7:00 pm today, 31st August, I would fight, and an hour later Kacchan would. Perfect timing, as it left us enough time to catch the train to Yorknew overnight.

/

The two of us simultaneously entered the ring as the announcer declared our arrivals.  
There was a plethora of spectators, making me feel slightly queasy. Sure, the previous fights had spectators, but those weren't serious - there was no nen.  
" _So far a 2-0 win streak... I can't tell what his nen ability is just by looking, but he must have a hatsu. I don't have a hatsu so the faster I figure it out, the faster I can take him down. Is there something to his mask? Perhaps if I can take that off I'll-"  
"_Heh, you saying your last prayers kid? You can back out now if you want."  
His gruff voice sounded out behind the mask, I merely ignored.

"Then begin!" The voice of the referee filled the room and I instantly sprung into action. Jumping right by his feet, I threw a nen infused punch. Of course he jumped back, but my intention was not to hit him. A cloud of debris rose into the air as my fist made contact with the floor. I bolted behind him before he could catch on that it was a distraction and threw another nen infused punch.  
It hit its mark.  
"Clean hi- Ah! Nevermind."  
' _Huh? Why did the refe-'  
_ My thoughts were interrupted by a punch from behind me.  
I flew forward from the impact, but managed to roll into a landing.  
"Clean hit!"  
"And there it is! Madhu's cloning technique! He conjures up his mask and clothing in a puppet to confuse his opponent!" The commentator explained.  
The opponent answered my questions as I realised what I thought was Madhu, as the commentator said, was merely a conjuration of a puppet clothed to look like him. That meant the punch from earlier was from the real thing. ' _But this puppet is almost his spitting image... I'll only be able to tell if it's a puppet once I make contact but that'll be tricky... There must be a way to discern the real one from the puppets. Think!"_ I punched at the floor again, lifting a thin cloud of debris.  
I saw a flash of green and jumped at it immediately, but a repeat of last time happened.  
Listening to the commentator gave no hints. Of course they wouldn't give up the weaknesses of one of the combatants.  
' _Think! How can I discern the real from the fake? Maybe if I remove the mask? There must be something to his mask... When I hit the puppet, it was much lighter... Maybe because the puppets are lighter they'll move differently?'_ My thoughts scrambled for ideas as I dodged every attack I saw. ' _Since the puppet is lighter, their punches won't hit as much, right? So then he'd want to always use his puppet as a decoy... The puppet is lighter... If it's lighter its easier to move...Wind! If I can create a strong enough force of wind, maybe I can blow the puppets away!'_

I attempted to conjure something of a large fan with my nen. Being a specialist, conjuration was only one spoke of the nen wheel away, so it was easy enough. As Madhu or his puppet rushed towards me, I swooped my flimsy nen fan, and blew away the puppet. Behind it I saw Madhu, slightly shocked from the current events, and used the opportunity to throw a hit infused with nen.  
"Clean hit and down!"  
"Izuku gets his first two points against Madhu, reaching 2-2! Using a strange... fan? Is this Izuku's technique?"  
Once again, Madhu or a puppet was dashing towards me. But this time there were two of them. I charged up a ball of nen to emit as I swished my fan, blowing the puppet on the left. I tried to emit an attack but to no avail. I missed my opportunity as the ball of nen dissipated.  
' _Damn! I'm being too ambitious. Emission is too far away...'_ I dived towards Madhu with my failed attack, but missed. Without missing a beat, I latched onto the edge of the floor tile and swung it towards Madhu. My hole from earlier had helped create a latch.  
"Clean hit and knockdown!"  
Without allowing him the chance to stand up, I ripped his mask off his face.

Hushed gasps echoed throughout the audience. What lay below the mask was a horribly distorted face. I froze.

The mask was snatched from my hands and placed gingerly back onto his face.  
"Heh. Can't even _face_ that? You're pathetic!" His tone drooled with mockery, but I had him pinned to the ground. His actions didn't match up to his words. In anticipation, I punched him a few times, giving me 9 points to 4.  
Before my final punch could land, one of his puppets flew from behind and pushed me off.  
"Clean hit and down!"  
I bounced to my feet and attempted to reconjure my nen fan, but to no avail.  
' _Then in that case...'_ Once again, I lifted a cloud of dust from the ground as a distraction. But I kept my eye on the real Madhu. His mask was slightly crooked.  
The real Madhu came rushing towards me and I pretended to dodge and aim a punch for the puppet, however it was a feint. My arm swung round and made contact with his face.

"Critical hit and down! Izuku wins by 12-4!"

The fight lasted about 20 minutes, in 40 minutes, it would Kacchan's turn.

* * *

 **How do you like my 2 new OCs? They were the reason this took so long lol, I couldn't think of any ideas for a while. Also, for those who read it before I updated it, I realised I forgot to add Hisashi's nen on the previous chapter so I updated the previous chapter AN and he's there now too.**

 **Thanks for reading, favouriting, following and reviewing!**

 **Replies to reviews:**

D3lph0xL0v3r: Thank you again! It's incredibly uplifting having you review every new chapter. Yes me too, especially for Izuku since he deserves much better.  
Yeah! In a way it's really useful that Kurapika is after the phantom troupe and has dedicated his nen against them - once he captures Chrollo, that'll provide a great opportunity for Izuku to recover his hatsu. Also, lololololol Hisashi Midoriya is Ging Freecss? That'd definitely be a shocking plot twist but... nah. I guess it could work? Ging/Hisashi met Inko, had a child and left. A year later Ging/Hisashi met Gon's mother and had a child, but changed his name because of personal reasons? Now that's the birth of a new crossover fanfic! Not in this one though.

AutumnNightStars: Thanks for coming back! It was a good, kinda fun thing to do so I did it lol ^_^


	14. Reunion x and x revelation

**Oof I should try to post new chapters more consistently... But don't worry, no matter how long it takes I won't discontinue this fic :)**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I do not own HxH or BnHA, clearly.**

 **Edited: 23/03/2020**

* * *

Patiently waiting to watch Kacchan's match, I sat in the stands with both Wing-san and Zushi beside me. I had no doubt in his abilities, so I was extremely confident in him, just as I'm sure he was in himself.

The commentator announced their arrivals:  
"The next match for today will be Katsuki vs Ruusen! Katsuki only newly entered the 200s, however all his previous matches on the floor below had been dealt with in one blow! And his opponent, Ruusen has a respectable streak of 2-0!"  
" _2-0, same as Madhu... They must be working together. They've probably been targeting the newcomers for their wins, so they've only got 2 wins... Ruusen's hair is weird, it almost looks like it's floating. Could it be related to his hatsu?"_

Zushi nudged me and bought me to my senses.

The announcer declared their beginning, and immediately Kacchan threw an explosion at Ruusen, who didn't seem to dodge.  
As the smoke cleared from the arena, Ruusen was revealed to be... unscathed? His locks of golden hair had grown even longer and thrown themselves between Kacchan and himself, likely acting as a shield.  
"There it is, Ruusen's special hair! It can act as a good shield, but also good for attacking, so well rounded in combat! Katsuki's nen must be explosions! Seems fitting for his short temper."

I didn't have to see his face to know a vein flared in his face, as he lunged forward yet again, palms crackling. Instead of using his hair as a shield, however, this time Ruusen let his thick locks of hair whip around him. This didn't deter Kacchan, who launched fist first towards the flashing ropes of hair.  
"Clean hit and knock down!"  
The referee was announcing for Bakugo, who's exploding fist seemed to punch through Ruusen's defence. Through the smoke, I could make out a large silhouette with no arms and long hair being knocked back.

"Feh! Is that it? All you got?"

The lion like man stood up, using his hair for what one would usually use hands for, and sent a long whip of hair at Kacchan. His hair had seemed to braid together tightly, forming a long, thick rope. Kacchan easily dodged, of course, but when the braid of hair hit the ground, the floor cracked.

" _It's that strong? Of course it must've been enough to block Kacchan's initial attack, but then when his hair was lashing about, how did Kacchan get past them? Maybe they're weaker when they're apart?"_

 _"_ Ruusen's hair whip! Lucky for Katsuki, he was able to dodge that!"

" _So then the hair must be stronger when its braided together..."  
"_Izuku, can you stop mumbling? Everyone is staring at us..." Zushi said.  
"A-ah! Sorry..."

Ruusen launched his hair-whip at Kacchan yet again, but instead of dodging, he held out his palm, crackling intensely and caught the lock of hair.

"Clean hit for both!"

Kacchan set off another large explosion, but before smoke filled the arena, both figures were knocked back. Once the smoke and dust cleared, I could see Ruusen's hair had begun to unravel. Kacchan didn't plan on giving him time to rebraid it, and he used an explosion to propel forward, sending a kick at his opponents stomach - he couldn't guard it with his hands afterall.  
"Critical hit and knockdown!"

' _Only four points left and he'll win...'_

Kacchan continued darting around, landing more hits, eventually ending up 10-2, as Ruusen managed to sneak in a clean hit. The fight was over in 10 minutes - half my time.

Having won one match each, we said goodbye to Wing-san and Zushi, and left the arena to the disappointment of the audience. We caught the night train to Yorknew.

/

" _Have you heard of that auction for a diamond, where a kid is arm wrestling but has yet to lose?"  
"Yeah? I heard he's already beaten 150 people!"_

 _"_ It's like we're following their ghosts, Kacchan. The kid is probably Gon or Killua."  
"Of course. Those bastards. I'd love to win that diamond."

We fought our way through the crowd to, sure enough, find Gon arm wrestling with a girl who looked strangely familiar, Killua holding a diamond, and Leorio acting as a referee.

" _Glasses, a golden chain with a cross at the end, short black hair... Where have I seen her before?"  
"_Shut up nerd. You recognise her?"  
"I-I'm sure I do... I must've seen her somewhere..."  
"Hah, grass-head is struggling."  
" _He is... the girl must be strong then... Come one, where have I - ah!"  
_ "Hmm?"  
"She's from the Ph-Phantom Troupe."  
"If she is, why is she arm wrestling for that diamond, they're thieves they steal..." He'd dropped his voice to a low whisper.

Fortunately, Gon had won, so the diamond was safe. ' _Or rather not, as it means she's likely to outright steal it...'_

But she simply stood up and left, much to my delight.

"Gon, Killua, Leorio!"  
"Izuku, Katsuki! You came!"

/

The other three had decided to wrap it up for the evening, so we were finally in privacy, in a hotel room.

"What were you doing?" I asked Killua and Gon, knowing  
"Earning money. I need it to buy a game which will help me find my dad," Gon replied.  
"A game?"  
"Greed Island. It has a starting bid of 8.9 billion jenny."  
"8.9 b-billion?" I repeated.  
"What kind of game costs 8.9 fucking _billion_ jenny?" Kacchan said.  
"Greed Island, we said-"  
"Ok well, anyway. You know who that girl you arm wrestled was, don't you?" Kacchan asked.  
"Her? No, but she was very strong... Maybe she's the world champion arm wrestler or something..."  
"She's a member of the Phantom Troupe," I said.

There was a pause.

"Wait what?"  
"How do you know?"  
"Of course he knows, he's a nerd," said Kacchan.  
"The Phantom Troupe... they're the ones Kurapika's after..." commented Gon.  
"Actually, have you seen Kurapika?" I asked  
"No. He should turn up soon though, the day's almost over," said Leorio.  
"Ah! How did you two find us?" Gon asked.  
"We followed the rumours."  
"Yes! It's working!" Leorio cheered.  
"What is?"  
"The stories are spreading nicely."  
"Stories?"  
"The arm wrestling was just meant as bait, to lure out the moles," grinned Leorio.

/

Leorio finished his explanation of what he meant. So I decided to begin to explain my situation.

"Have you learnt nen Leorio?" I asked.  
"Of course!"  
"Ok, good. So... uh... Well - see Kacchan already knew how to use nen, he just hadn't developed a hatsu-"  
"Hatsu?" Leorio asked.  
"He barely knows nen. He only understands ten, so you'll have to explain everything else, too," commented Killua.  
Reluctantly, I had to make a quick explanation on the four principles of nen. Then I could get into the details.  
"Ok, so, Kacchan has developed a hatsu already - he's a transmuter, he transmutes his nen into nitroglycerine to make explosions."  
"Ooh, cool! Can I see?" said Gon.  
"Not now." Kacchan growled, catching the other three off guard with his aggression. I could tell he still felt guilty, even after I had reassured him. He beckoned for me to continue.  
"So...W-well... I mean, we grew up together, so I learnt nen too..."  
"Then why didn't you use it at the exam?"  
"Ah. Well Kacchan only recently figured out his Hatsu, but see - I'm a specialist - and something happened to I developed a hatsu quickly. It was a healing hatsu. But then... It was stolen."  
"Stolen? How do you steal Hatsu?" Gon asked curiously.  
"Do you know the Phantom Troupe Leader's hatsu? He's also a specialist, and he can steal other's hatsu."  
"Wait... don't tell me your nen was _stolen by the leader of the Phantom Troupe?_ " said Killua.

Kacchan's head was bowed in shame. The other three had their eyes wide in disbelief. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, and continued.

"Yes. My hatsu was stolen by Chrollo Lucilfer."

* * *

 **Sorry for the short chapter. Thanks for reading, favouriting, following and reviewing! Thank you all for the support! :D Reviews brighten up my day, so if you want leave a review, then go ahead, doesn't matter how long or short :)**

 **Also, I'm gonna pull a Togashi and go on hiatus. Yes, I know I've essentially been doing that anyway... but I've got exams coming up so I need to prepare so this time it's an official hiatus. I don't know necessarily how long it'll take, and even with this, I will still try working on the fic during my free time, so who knows, maybe the next chapter could be out soon? (Unlikely). The next chapter will definitely be up before August, which is a long time away granted, but that's more of a worst case scenario. Thank you for being patient!**

 **Replies to reviews:**

Guest: Thank you!

D3lph0xL0v3r: THANK YOUUU! Yes, I sincerely hope he does too (yes, I am writing the fic and yes, I do know do what will happen lol).  
And yeah, Hisashi Midoriya as Ging... Haha, that'd be pretty intriguing. Izuku could have a positive effect on Gon, and maybe he wouldn't be as selfish or hypocritical as he is canonically, and Izuku could save Kurapika, I mean we all saw what he did in the sports festival to Todoroki (and now in this fic with Killua :D).  
Yes! I thought it was only fitting to have the saint Izuku himself to have a healing hatsu, something that would be pretty enviable to others. As for the exact abilities, yes he can heal himself - I was thinking his specialist ability was something akin to 'sharing nen' and his nen has healing capabilities, like how an enhancer has enhanced healing abilities, but his specialist ability also accentuates this so it's more effective. Bakugo's nen was actually based off his quirk,but his quirk is based off his personality (or maybe the other way round) so his ability, I would say, is based on his personality. But his nen type according to Hisoka's test isn't, if it was he'd be an emitter seeing as he's very short-tempered.

Guest (30/3): Yes... I'm sorry it's taking so long... Thanks for reading though!


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